


portkey to my heart

by catladyjaebum



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: A little, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Care of Magical Creatures, Christmas Fluff, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Quidditch, good ol friendly house rivarly, gryffindor baekhyun, hufflepuff chanyeol, i love hogwarts aus so much, i would say enemies to lovers but like lmao no, listen theyre dumb gays dont expect much from them, no fantastic beasts were hurt in the making of this, slow burn ???????
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2019-06-15
Packaged: 2019-08-21 03:51:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 44,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16569089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catladyjaebum/pseuds/catladyjaebum
Summary: To the surprise of absolutely no one, Baekhyun falls for the Hufflepuff with the cute ears.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well hello there
> 
> i'm way too excited, i absolutely love chanbaek and i love hogwarts aus so this is more self indulgent than anything ksjdhasijkhas
> 
> also, this wouldn't be here if not for the other halves of my only two braincells, sam and lily, i love you and thank you for letting me dump this mess on you!!
> 
> enjoy ♡♡

 

✧･ﾟ:*✧･*✧･ﾟ:* ･✧

 

 

“Wait, wait,” Jongdae stops suddenly, adjusting the strap of his bag. “Tell me again why am I going with you to Hagrid’s hut, on a Saturday of all days?”

Baekhyun keeps walking, not bothering to wait. “I’ve said it a million times already, extra credit. Do you actually listen to anything I say?”

“Hardly, but that’s not the point.”  

He opens the door for both of them, nudging the Slytherin until he passes. “Then what is?”

“I know why  _you’re_ here, you’re a terrible student. But again, that doesn’t explain why I have to!” Jongdae whines, startling a few birds that were sleeping by the fountain. “Unlike you, I don’t need better grades.”  

“You’re here for moral support, all right? That’s what friends are for.”

The Slytherin makes a face. “You know I wouldn’t go as far as calling us  _friends_.

Baekhyun rolls his eyes, sparing himself from replying. Just like most pureblood families, theirs had been connected for generations. The two of grew up together, came to Hogwarts together. He couldn’t get rid of Kim Jongdae even if he wanted to.  

It was a nice morning, all things considered. He doesn’t mind it being early since he was more than accustomed to waking up at ungodly hours for practices. The path leading towards the edge of the Forbidden Forest is empty, of course, and all the way down there Baekhyun can see the smoke slowly leaving Hagrid’s chimney. There are very little clouds in the sky, and all throughout the fields around them, all that can be heard is the chirping of birds.   

And Jongdae.

“It’s not my fault you’re a dumbass, Baekhyun. I shouldn’t be paying for your mistakes.”

That is technically true.  

Being Gryffindor’s team Keeper and captain comes with a handful of responsibilities and expectations. Being a seventh-year with multiple N.E.W.T.s to study for  _while also_ being the Gryffindor’s team Keeper and captain comes with a handful lot more. His childhood dream of becoming a professional Quidditch player, dragon-rider Auror was proving itself harder and harder each year, but Gryffindors are nothing if not stubborn.  

He might not be riding a Chinese Fireball when he does it but Merlin, he will use the Quidditch Cup to punch dark magic in the face.  

Unfortunately, one can’t keep their position on the power of will alone. Professor McGonagall was awfully demanding of her students, particularly her favorite ones. The seventh years had had their first round of exams the week before, and it wasn’t pretty. His report card came sporting too many Poors and Dreadfuls and a shameful lonely Acceptable. Along with also came a note from the headmaster herself, kindly inviting him for a private chat in her office. Baekhyun saw his entire life flash before his eyes, almost ruining his pants waiting to get inside.  

The conversation itself didn’t go that bad. Upon seeing his absolutely terrified - I mean, _appropriately concerned -_ , complexion, Professor McGonagall offered him a cookie. She didn’t waste time after, saying that his passion for Quidditch, while inspiring, was getting in the way of his path to becoming a great Auror.

And Baekhyun was very aware of that. But this was his last year in Hogwarts, and not once had he seen the Quidditch Cup be claimed by his house ever since he joined the team on his second year. It was his last shot at proving himself worthy of the Captain title and he owed his teammates a victory. Baekhyun looked around her office, and he had the half-mind of keeping quiet until his eyes landed over the empty shelf behind her chair. He had to appeal to the sport’s fanatic in her. She, more than anyone, wanted to have that cup surrounded by red and gold once again.  

“Professor, please, I can’t compromise the team by not giving them my 120%, at all times,” he pleaded. “And it has been paying off! We haven’t lost a game since the beginning of the season! We can win, I’m sure of it!”

“I am sure of it as well, Mr. Byun.” She said, putting her teacup down. “Believe me, I haven’t had this faith a captain could bring the cup to our house in a long time, although,” She added, after noticing his hopes getting up. “As far as I am informed, it is still your wish to become an Auror, is it not?” Baekhyun didn’t answer, and she sighed. “Were your only wish to become a professional player, I would not be bothering you, but, as your mentor, I must urge you to reconsider your priorities.”

Baekhyun felt himself deflate. He knew what would come next, he’d seen it happen to former players. Playing for the Quidditch team was a privilege, and the professors wouldn’t hesitate to revoke that privilege if you failed to maintain your grades at acceptable levels. He waited as she watched him carefully as he felt his hard work slip through his hands.  

“With that being said,” She interrupted his turmoil of thoughts. “I want to offer you a way to alter your disappointing marks.” He almost snapped his neck with how fast he raised his head. McGonagall shook her head lightly before continuing. “Think of it as an extracurricular activity. Hogwarts happens to be experiencing a time of discoveries, and many of my faculty colleagues are enrolled in various types of research. You are to assist one of them, aiding them in the means they seem fit, and proving you are in fact focused and dedicated to your grades.”

The Gryffindor gaped for a few seconds, not sure of what to do. He was about to question his professor on how exactly _adding more responsibilities to his plate_ was supposed to help him get better grades, but he didn't want to sound disrespectful, nor ungrateful. The headmaster seemed to read his mind, and her expression became sterner.  

“Unfortunately, I need you to understand how serious your situation is, Mr. Byun. To ensure you have enough time, for both your studies and your future, I must make a hard decision.” She glanced down at her hands briefly, but her eyes showed no doubt when they locked with his. “I am sorry, but as of now, you are no longer the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.”

It might seem like a dramatic reaction now, but at the time, Baekhyun felt his world break down. He tried to plea and change her mind, but the headmaster’s decision was final. She had already sent an owl to the head of Gryffindor house, informing him of the outcome. _Count your blessings,_ she said, _I’m not cutting you from the team, just making sure you don’t get too worked up_. Baekhyun was angry, of course he was, but he managed to keep his temper under control because any other professor would have forbidden him from playing altogether.

“As for your teammates, I am giving your position to Wang. If by the time the next exams come you have proven to your chosen mentor and I that you are fully committed to your grades, I will allow you to reclaim your spot as captain. If not, I will have you permanently removed from the team.” She raised one eyebrow, fixing her glasses. “Have I made myself clear?”

It wasn’t like he had any choice, so all he did was nod in understanding. “Yes, professor.”  

Jackson Wang, sixth year, one of the beaters. Baekhyun really liked him and he knew the team would be safe in his hands. In fact, he was planning on leaving a good word for Jackson to take his place once he graduated. He would be proud, even, but then it just felt too bittersweet.   

All that was left to do now was focusing on getting his position back.  

The headmaster gave him three options;  

He could work with Professor Binns, who was on the process of thoroughly reading every single report on the Soap Blizzard of 1378, checking their veracity, cataloging and transcribing them. The number of scrolls was alarmingly higher than it should have been possible, and the thought of it sent shivers down his spine.  

The second option involved getting himself immersed in a really weird observation process to aid professor Clarence’s research on Muggle behavior. And by weird, he meant dressing up, consuming questionable food and performing elaborate dances and what Baekhyun was sure to be stalking some Muggles.  

And finally, there was professor Hagrid. He had just gotten back from a trip to South America, and inside his coat pocket he brought some “completely legal” snakes. They weren’t a very known species in Great Britain, but professor McGonagall did mention that legend believed that people who looked the snake’s eyes would go insane.  

It was a pretty easy choice, really.  

He sought out the Care of Magical Creatures professor that very evening and got a very enthusiastic response. Hagrid instructed him to come over for breakfast the following Saturday. He had even excitedly asked him to bring a friend and really, who was Baekhyun to say no?

Jongdae would just have to suck it.  

“Look, Hagrid is already making us tea.” He points, interrupting yet another fit of whining. “He asked me to bring friends, do you really want to break his heart by not going?”

The Slytherin narrows his eyes. “That’s just playing dirty, and you know it.”

“We’ll be fine, okay?”

“Fine. But if I anything bites my toes off, I will hex the hair out of your head.”

Their bickering is cut short when they reach the entrance of the Hut. Baekhyun knocks and is greeted by Fang’s cheerful barks, and sees himself with a face full of dog once the door opens. Jongdae gracefully slides pass them while the Gryffindor coos at the big hound ( _“Who’s a good boy? Who’s a good, handsome, bloodthirsty boy?”_ ).  

Hagrid gets the dog to finally leave him by throwing a big piece of raw meat across the room. He greets Baekhyun with a hug and starts offering them every single edible thing around the house. The mug is absolutely huge in his hands, and he laughs watching Jongdae struggling to balance his plate of muffins once Fang sniffs them on him.   

“This is great, I tell yeh!” The half-giant claps his hands, a huge smile on his face. “Now that there’s three of us, the little devils won’t be lonely at all!”  

“Actually, professor, Jongdae is only here for today. He takes too many extracurriculars as it is.” Baekhyun is quick to correct. All things said, he knows Jongdae wouldn’t want to spend his spare time inside the Forbidden Forest, doing Merlin knows what.  

“Oh, no, I know that!” He waves his hand around, not at all bothered. “I meant you, me, and your little Hufflepuff friend over there!”

Wait.

Hufflepuff friend?

Baekhyun turns around and sure enough – sitting there, smiling from ear to ear, is Park Chanyeol.

Chanyeol. Stupid Hufflepuff Chaser Park Chanyeol, with his stupid ears and his stupid face and his amazing stupid aim that scores more goals than Baekhyun is proud to admit.

“Good morning!” He says, at the same time Baekhyun blurts out a “What are you doing here?”

Chanyeol giggles, he bloody  _giggles_ , and uses his mug to gesture to Hagrid. “Professor Hagrid sent me an owl, said he had a big surprise!”  

“And I do!” Their professor says, and there’s a mischievous glint in his eyes that Baekhyun doesn’t miss “But, you kids need to finish breakfast first!”

The half-giant turns around and pours them even more tea. It feels warm on his hands, and he sips on it quietly, doing his best to pretend the Hufflepuff guy isn’t there.  

Which is hard, because Jongdae, the traitor, practically yelps in excitement before greeting his friend. They engage in lively chatter, both stuffing their faces with buttered bread while Baekhyun pretends not to be bothered.  

Because he isn’t.

Just funny how Jongdae, his childhood best friend, someone his mother considers her third son, is now all smiles and giggles with a stranger. Well. Not stranger, but still not a best friend.

Their thing, it’s not personal. It has to do with pride. Baekhyun is a Gryffindor, a mighty fearless lion, and he has all right to be a little annoyed that the Hufflepuff had been snatching their deserved wins. He’s not saying the other team isn’t talented, but it really isn’t fair how many Quaffles Park manages to get through his defense, with that big dumb face of his.

(Okay, maybe it is a little personal).

It’s not long until their bellies are full, and Baekhyun knows he will have a long night if he eats anything else. The other boys seem to feel the same, and they all assure their host that they are satisfied.  

By the time their plates and mugs are gone, Hagrid is practically skipping around with excitement. He ushers them to follow him to a corner and picks up a medium-sized cardboard box. It keeps shaking, and they can hear the little noises the creatures inside are making. Baekhyun has a faint idea of what they are, but his classmates next to him seem both clueless. The Slytherin looks like he’d much rather not make its acquaintance, but Chanyeol’s eyes are glinting with anticipation.  

“Alright boys, this is it!” Hagrid says, “Inside this box are my new little friends, and I just know they are just as excited to meet you!” He opens the box, and the three teenagers hold their breaths (Baekhyun even feels Jongdae’s anxious grip on his robes). “It is my pleasure to introduce you to Fergus and Gertrude!”  

Inside it there are two really small snakes. They are barely twenty centimeters long, brown colored and tiny little heads with tiny red eyes. The bigger one hisses at Baekhyun.

“Look Dae, it’s your family.” He whispers.

“Wow, Byun, how creative. Your mother must be proud.”

Hagrid pays them no mind, reaching for the reptiles inside the box. “Aren’t they cute?” He coos, as the animals slide over each other towards his hands.  

“What are they?” He asks.  

“They are called Boitatas, they’re a magical species from Brazil.” Just as he says it, the biggest one tries to bite his finger. “Whoa there! This little girl here is a feisty one, she is!”  

Well, feisty or not, Baekhyun has never heard of them. Of course, he isn’t exactly that into Care of Magical Creatures, so it’s not surprising. Park, on the other hand, is the one with the crazy animal obsession, but he seems to be as fascinated by the strange animals as the rest of them.

Not that Baekhyun really cares.

(He doesn’t).

Hagrid curses as his finger is bitten, once again. His better sense gets the best of him, so he places the animals back on the box. “They’re known for being guardians of the forest. I figured maybe Hogwarts could use one or two of these, aye?” He says, looking at them with warm eyes. To his left, Baekhyun hears his friend mumble something about “ _the Forbidden Forest having enough killer animals already”_ under his breath, but it goes unnoticed by their professor.  

“They’re so beautiful.” Park breathes, finally saying something. Baekhyun is otherwise indifferent to snakes, but he guesses those two were kind of cute. “How old are they?”

“Not even two months old, these babies.”  

They’re sliding over each other, trying to climb up the box. The patterns through their thin bodies are impressively complex, and Baekhyun holds down the urge to touch them. “Do you know how big they can grow?”

Hagrid pulls the lamp closer to the box, and the snakes seem to calm down a little. “I’m not sure. Their mother was almost as big as me, and she was just a lil’ gal, too!”

Jongdae takes a significant step back and Park shuffles a little closer. Baekhyun is just glad he doesn’t live by a rainforest.  

For the rest of the morning, they talk about the snakes. Professor Hagrid had with him a worn-out leather journal, and he takes his time showing the notes he managed to gather about the species. It isn’t much, but it gives them a starting point. Chanyeol makes suggestions every now and then, about the tank they must make for the babies, the sort of spells to keep the environment appropriate, the temperature, food, and the more he talks the more excited he gets. Baekhyun wonders how he knows so much about snakes in the first place.

It’s lunchtime when they finally say their goodbyes. Jongdae takes one last narrowed look at Gertrude and Fergus and marches out the door. Baekhyun lets Fang give him puppy kisses, and tries not to get too annoyed when the dog goes over to Chanyeol instead.

They promise Hagrid to do some research, and schedule their next meeting to Monday, after Baekhyun’s double Potions.  

During the climb back to the castle, Jongdae’s face regains some color, and now the sounds of the forest are muffled by his cheerful chatter with the Hufflepuff. Baekhyun tries to walk a little faster, a few steps ahead of the two, but it’s only because he’s hungry.   

Baekhyun is the first out of the Wooden Bridge, and it’s packed with the other students. It’s less chilly now than it was when they first crossed it, but most people have their coats and robes on. The three of them slow down as they make their way through the courtyard, nodding to some friends.

A group of Hufflepuffs calls over to Park, and he waves back before turning to them.

“Hey, me and the guys are going down to Hogsmeade. There's a cool lunch-butterbeer deal going on.” His smile is so big, Baekhyun sort of wants to look away. “You two wanna come?”

Jongdae is halfway through an affirmative when Baekhyun grabs his arm. “We have a lot of homework to do, we’ll just eat in the castle.”

“Oh...” Park downright deflates, and the Gryffindor tries not to feel too bad about the look on his face. Whatever, it’s not his problem. “Well, that sucks, but I understand.” He pats Jongdae in the back and gives Baekhyun a warm smile. “I guess I’ll see you later?”

Baekhyun doesn’t respond, not that it matters because Park gets instantly encircled by a pack of Hufflepuffs. He takes it as his cue and drags his friend away, promptly beelining through the masses towards the Great Hall. He really is just hungry.   

Jongdae seems to have a different idea.  

“Man, what in Merlin’s beard was that?” He asks, waving his arm around to get it free. “I actually wanted to go with them!”

He turns to give him a look. “You can’t be serious.”  

“What? It’s the first Saturday of the month!” He says, like Baekhyun is supposed to know what that means. He sighs upon getting no reaction but an eyebrow raise. “Burgers, Byun, seriously.”

“Is that muggle food?”  

Jongdae waggles his eyebrows at him. “Yes. Quite delicious, might I add.”

“How do you even know that?” Maybe it was from Muggle Studies? Baekhyun wouldn’t know, he hadn’t had that class since third-year.  

“Park brought some to a party, I think fifth year? I had like fourteen of those.” His expression becomes dreamy. “Best night of my life.”

They finally reach the Great Hall, and Baekhyun guides them to the end of the Gryffindor table. No one bats an eye at Jongdae. “You have low standards.” He says, eyes scanning what to eat first.

His friend is silent for a few seconds, and Baekhyun assumes it’s because he’s eating. He’s not, though, and when he turns to reach for the chicken, Jongdae is giving him a thoughtful stare. He frowns and waits.

“Are you talking about muggle food, or about Park?” He says, finally.

Baekhyun blinks, only mildly offended. “Both, to be honest.”

The Slytherin grins, “You know I like him a lot better than I like you, right?” Baekhyun huffs, stuffing his mouth with mashed potatoes. The nerve on that guy. “What’s gotten your robes in such a fuss, anyway?”

It seems obvious from where he’s standing. “He’s a Hufflepuff, you’re a Slytherin.” He says, matter of factly.  “Why are you fraternizing with the enemy?”

Jongdae has that dangerous smirk of his, the _‘I be knowing’_ kind. “Chanyeol is hardly anyone’s enemy, dude.” He wiggles his butt closer, bumping into his side. “Are you sure you’re not jealous?”

If he wasn’t offended before, he is now. “Kim, please. Why would I be jealous of that tall licorice wand?” He bites another mouthful, trying not to talk too much between chews. “Besides, you meant to say ‘envious’, not ‘jealous’. Learn your language, you uncultured snake.”

“I guess he is a better Quidditch player than you,” He muses, but then his smirk gets impossibly wider, and Baekhyun kind of hates him a little. “But, no. I’m pretty sure I meant to say jealous.”

Now that's just a bunch of owl shit. Baekhyun puts down his fork to slap his friend up the head. “Did you play with mandrakes without your mufflers again? You’re talking nonsense!”

His friend makes a point of pushing him back, but both of them quit it once they notice the Ravenclaw Head Girl giving them a nasty look. Jongdae now has a pile of french fries on his plate, and he points one right at his nose.

“What type of example are you setting here? As the captain, shouldn't you be encouraging the House teams to have friendly exchanges?”

 

Baekhyun feels the sting, but he tries his best not to let too much of it show. From across the table, one of the newest players sends him an apologetic smile. She's a good kid, good player - even if for now all she does is bench for the other beaters. He and Wang had agreed to keep the new captain arrangements strictly a team matter, shared if needed with other Gryffindors only. They didn't want to risk sending a beacon to the rest of the school that their team balance was a little off.

Besides, he's getting enough pity looks from his teammates as it is.

He knows Jongdae doesn't mean it to hurt him, but it still does. He only hopes he can get away with looking annoyed instead of heart-broken.

Luckily, his friend doesn’t notice, and Baekhyun gets to hide behind the rest of the Gryffindor seventh-years, who spots him and settle, making a lot of noise in the process.

The apple pie on his plate looks at him like he’s a little pathetic, and Baekhyun kind of believes it.

 

✧･ﾟ:*✧･*✧･ﾟ:* ･✧

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaaand there you go! thank you so much for reading!  
> btw now i have a lot of snake knowledge that i will most likely never use again smh
> 
> the chapters will probably be updated up to a week from each other  
> but like, emphasis on probably jsdhksn 
> 
> ♡♡♡


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello beautifuls
> 
> first i just want to say thank you to everyone who read and enjoyed it enough to come back, yall the shit <3
> 
> second i cant stop listening to dmumt send help

 

✧･ﾟ:*✧･*✧･ﾟ:* ･✧

  


By the time Monday comes, Baekhyun has learned a number of things.

First, he really knows absolutely nothing about snakes. Apparently, not all of them had little rattles by their tails, and to be honest, he is a little disappointed.

Second, there aren’t as many snake books as one would think available in the school library. He annoyed Madam Pince to the point she threatened to kick him out, only so he could counter with ‘how dare she stand in the way of wisdom!’, to which a very enthusiastic second-year Ravenclaw clapped. The librarian wasn’t impressed.

And finally, snakes are really, _really_ hard to look after.

He makes a joke or two about finally understanding why Slytherins are so high maintenance, but Jongdae barely scowls at him from behind his cauldron during Potions. His Gryffindor classmates laugh, so he counts it as a win anyway.

Professor Slughorn is going around making comments about the brews, and he stops to pat Jongdae’s shoulder. Baekhyun rolls his eyes. The only reason his friend is even part of the Slug Club is because his mother works at the Daily Prophet.

“This has a very nice texture, Mr. Kim, well done!” He claps his hands together, and Jongdae sits up a bit straighter, smug smile on his face. “Ten points to Slytherin!”

“Why, thank you, professor.” He says, the sycophant. “I learned from the very best!”

At least half the Gryffindors around them groan, but that only makes Jongdae grin wider. Slughorn lets out a content chuckle. “My boy, you flatter me! Miss Park, would you please check the other ones?”

Miss Park pokes her head from behind a bookshelf and says she’d be there in a second.

Miss Park as in, Park Yoora, Professor Slughorn’s assistant and pupil.

Park Yoora as in, Chanyeol’s older sister.

Everybody knows about Miss Park. She was on her seventh year when he first came to Hogwarts, but even then he knew. Top student, model Ravenclaw, adored by all because of her sharp mind and kind heart. She had been hired by the headmaster not even five years after graduating, and now she was adored as a member of the faculty as well. Baekhyun thinks she is a far more just Potions master than professor Slughorn, and on top of that, she is absolutely gorgeous.

He wasn’t even embarrassed to admit his past crush on her, because two-thirds of the school agreed with him.  

The only weird thing, people kept saying how alike Chanyeol and his sister were - both in looks and personality.

Baekhyun couldn’t for the life of him fathom why. His first guess was the big brown eyes, but Yoora’s were pretty and deep (sexy, when she wanted to), and Chanyeol’s were just. Well, dumb. Maybe the soft dark hair was a factor, but that was before the Chaser had dyed his blond. Baekhyun wasn’t one to judge, because even if his hair was a tame brown now, he too had made some dramatic changes in the past. Besides, he actually thought the light tone matched the Hufflepuff colors.   

He shakes his head, bringing his attention back to the present before he accidentally over-boils his brew. It’s not like he cares about what Park looks like.

Yoora reaches his potion next. She picks up a spoon and gives it a few spurs, humming approvingly before flashing him a big grin. He feels his entire face flush red, so he pretends to be extra focused on writing down notes, ignoring Jongdae’s giggles from the other side of the table.

The bell rings soon after and the Gryffindor finds himself torn between gathering his belongings at the speed of light to hide under a blanket and taking his sweet time before having to finally meet Chanyeol. The other students are chatting, and some even volunteer to help Miss Park clean up the mess. Maybe he should offer himself too.

He’s in the middle of doing just that when she suddenly stops, looking over his shoulder towards the door. “Loey!” She smiles, voice warm and happy. “Did you want to eat together today? I didn’t get any notes.”

Baekhyun pointedly doesn’t turn around when he hears the intruder approaching them. “Hey! Actually, no, I’m only here to pick up my friend.” He sounds like he’s smiling, and he can tell Chanyeol is right behind him, so he scrubs the beakers like it’s the most important thing he’s ever been told to do. Maybe if he looks busy enough the Hufflepuff will go away. “Baekhyun, hi!” He feels a faint touch to his arm, and he tries not to flinch too hard. “Are you almost done?”

The Gryffindor glances at him from over his shoulder, and nods at both his hands immersed in water. Why he’s cleaning them without magic, he doesn’t know. “I still have some washing to do,” He says. “You should have gone to Hagrid’s as we agreed.”

Chanyeol’s face drops just a notch, but he recovers before Baekhyun has time to feel guilty. The guy has a twig poking out of his hair. “Well, I finished my practice earlier, and this class was kind of on the way, so I figured I’d make you company.” He adds, with an even bigger smile this time.

“I’m sorry, I think I’ll be here a while.” He shrugs as the Hufflepuff frowns. Is that, is that dirt on his robes? “You should go ahead, I’ll meet you there later.”

Before the blond can say anything else, Yoora plants an arm around Baekhyun’s shoulders. “By all means, don’t let me keep you! You can just leave that there.”

“But-” he starts, but the former Ravenclaw only squeezes him a little. And then he’s being manhandled towards Chanyeol.

“Don’t worry about it, Mr. Byun. You're sweet for helping, but I’ll be fine.” She waves her wand around, and the objects start washing themselves. Baekhyun pouts, and she winks at him before shooing them away. “Get going, you two! Don't keep professor Hagrid waiting.”

Chanyeol is merely supporting him from falling over, but even the ghost touch of his arms feel strong. Baekhyun takes a deep breath, and something about Park smells fresh, like dirt and leaves after the rain falls. It's weird but oddly comforting.

Baekhyun shakes his head. He awkwardly removes himself from the Hufflepuff's personal space before he does something weird and murmurs some nonsense as he goes retrieve his bag. He also actively ignores Jongdae’s calls as he books it out of the classroom, the blond right by his side.

To his credit, at least Park doesn’t push too much after his attempt on small talk is thrown to the side. He makes a few comments about how he had spent his weekend, to which Baekhyun barely nods in acknowledgment, and then they’re silent. It feels awkward, but trying to be friendly would be even more awkward, so Baekhyun starts taking bigger steps. Park doesn’t even notice, probably because of those huge legs of his.

This time Fang is waiting outside, sprawled across the front porch. He perks his ears at Baekhyun's voice and barks excitedly before jumping towards him. If he was alone, he would probably just throw himself on the floor and let hound eat him alive, but he doesn't want to end up in a position of weakness in front of the enemy.

Fang leads them around the Hut, towards the back where the pumpkins are growing. Chanyeol greets the crows, like it's a normal thing to do, both his hands raised above his head, far from the hound’s reach. Huh, that's unusual. Baekhyun has never seen the Hufflepuff deny the dog - or any animal, for that matter - petting.

Baekhyun almost questions it, but he silently reminds himself that he doesn't care.

Professor Hagrid waves at them, beckoning the students closer.

“You’re just on time, how great!” He says, cleaning his hands on his trousers before taking Baekhyun’s in his. “Did you boys eat?”

“No, not yet,” Chanyeol answers before he can, standing a little too close. The Gryffindor shifts his weight on his legs, there's that forest smell again. “In fact, I brought some pumpkin soup my nan sent for us!” He turns to Baekhyun, smiling brightly as he holds up his hand. “I can guarantee it’s gonna be the best soup you’ll ever have. Scout’s honor.”

He blinks at the hand and then he blinks at the smile. “I don’t know what that means.”

The blond chuckles. “It’s a Muggle thing. Means I’m being completely honest.”

Baekhyun hums as Hagrid lets them inside. He waits as the other two get the soup warmed up. Park opens his bag and pulls out some… Gloves? Yes, _white surgical gloves_. He nonchalantly put them on and starts moving around, grabbing things as if he lives here. He opens a cabinet and pulls three handmade clay bowls from it and places them on the little round table, careful so Fang doesn’t reach the bread. Every now and then he’ll catch the Gryffindor watching him, and he’ll smile as Baekhyun pretends to do something else. The three of them sit down, and Hagrid starts narrating in detail what the snakes have been up to, like a proud father. Chanyeol looks at him expectantly as he brings the spoon to his mouth, barely biting down a smile.

Bloody dumb granny’s boy bringing his dumb homemade soup and his dumb-.

Oh.

_Oh._

Baekhyun almost drops his spoon.

“Do you like it?” The Hufflepuff asks, but the look on his face tells him that he already knows the answer. Baekhyun doesn’t say anything - not that he has to, he’s sure his face is giving it all away.

Hagrid is the one to speak first, throwing out compliments and pleased hums. Baekhyun nods along, way too wary of the way Park is still watching him like he’s particularly interested in how Baekhyun feels about it. Like Baekhyun's opinion matters. As if whether or not he likes his grandmother's homemade soup is a big deal.

Baekhyun doesn't know what to do with himself. His mother raised him better. He can drop the whole enemy thing for a couple of minutes, because _hot damn_.

“This is the best soup I’ve ever had.” He declares finally, and he means it. “Scout’s honor.”

Park's face lights up like a Lumos spell. His shoulders relax, and the beam doesn't leave his face as he carries on eating.

Baekhyun feels his cheeks heat up, but he blames it on the soup.

They don't take long to finish their meals, and once it's gone the Gryffindor has the urge to lick the bowl - the soup is _that_ good.

(He doesn't).

Instead, he and Park help Hagrid clean up. It's not until Chanyeol reaches for the cardboard box he finally remembers why they're there in the first place.

“Hello, babies!” Park says, placing the box on the floor and sitting cross-legged beside it. His voice is high and soft while he removes his gloves, tossing them aside. It’s like he’s talking to actual babies. “How was your day? Did you guys behave?”

The snakes hiss at him, wiggling over each other. Baekhyun takes a few steps closer and sits down as well, taking the caution of keeping a fair distance between him and them. Because of the snakes, of course. He didn't miss the multiple bandages around their professor’s hands and he has a few good guesses on where those came from. Park probably has a death wish, because there goes his hand, inside the box right within the reach of those nasty sharp fangs.

Only, instead of attacking him, the snakes rub their small heads under his touch, as if they're enjoying it.

What the actual. Fuck.

He’s petting them. He's petting the snakes. Like they're bloody kittens.

Park is all giggles as he lets the snakes run under his hands, and he even picks them up. Baekhyun's mouth drops open as the most aggressive of the two (Gertrude, because she's the bigger one - yeah, Baekhyun did his research) climbs up his arm, practically melting under Chanyeol's fingers.

“There, there,” He coos, giving Fergus’ head little pats. “I missed you guys, too!”

Seriously. What the fuck.

He turns his attention to Hagrid, looking for some sort of explanation, but the half-giant barely spares him a glance, too enamored with his own pets. Baekhyun huffs, absolutely dumbstruck. What in Merlin's beard.

Chanyeol eyes him, a little smile on his face. “Before coming here, I went and rolled around the grass on the Quidditch field. It rained this morning, which helps. I also hugged some trees.” He brings his hand that has Gertrude wrapping herself around his fingers closer to his face and lets her feel him with her tongue. “I smell like home. They think I’m a moving tree.”

Baekhyun breathes out a little “oh”. He wants to say something, he _tries_ to say something, but all he manages is to gape his mouth. Park smiles at him again.

“I came back here Friday night because I couldn't stop thinking about them. They were still aggressive, and well, I couldn't blame them.” He lowers his arms, holding his hands together, making a nest for the animals. “They were taken from their home and brought to a weird place, anyone would be scared. Snakes know the world by their sense of smell, so I figured they'd be more comfortable around something familiar.” Park lower his eyes to the animals, nothing but fondness in them. “Guess I was right.”

He's watching the snakes and how calm they look. Baekhyun is truly speechless. He knows about the highly sensitive sense of smell, it was on every book he read, but it never occurred to him to use it on his favor. Hell, he didn't even consider checking up on the snakes until today.

Chanyeol wasn't being a weirdo, he was just making sure he didn't touch anything that would affect the smell of the trees on his hands.

Hagrid speaks up, telling the boys he needs to go back to the castle for an hour or two and asks for the boys to watch the snakes while he's gone. Chanyeol salutes and says “yes sir”, but Baekhyun barely nods. He's still frozen in place.

He watches in silence as the Hufflepuff explains how he got the idea after getting out of the Three Broomsticks and a dog wouldn't leave him alone because he smelled like steak. He ran back to the castle so he could shower, then made his way to Hagrid’s, rubbing himself on every tree and plant he could find on the way. It definitely paints an interesting image on Baekhyun's brain.

He had spent the majority of his weekend here, sitting by the snakes and letting them get used to him. Scolding Hagrid for not washing his hands before trying to feed them while he read some books Yoora managed to buy from a Muggle bookstore. Baekhyun feels stupid, he feels irresponsible, he feels tired. Chanyeol wasn't here because he needed extra credit and yet he still was doing better than him. All the time he spent on research, feels like nothing because Park can just do it better, more effectively. Feels like another game he has to watch slip from his fingers.

He’s too quiet, and he only notices it because Park has gone quiet too. And this time, he's not watching the animals, he's watching Baekhyun. He’s not sure what in his eyes make him squirm inside, but it's probably just the lights.

“What?” He snaps and winces at how loud his voice sounds inside the cabin.

Chanyeol’s gaze on him is careful like he’s studying what to say next. “Would you like to try? Let them get used to you?” He nods to his lap, where the snakes are. His voice is deep and confident, but soft and reassuring at the same time. Careful. Soothing. “I can show you how.”

There's a piercing feeling from inside his stomach, and it makes Baekhyun want to snap again. Park is talking to him like he’s just another beast, that needs to be coaxed and tamed. But also, bigger than that, there's this warm bubbling growing in his chest, and it wants to say yes. He wants to do well. For the snakes, for McGonagall, for his team, for himself. He knows he's being petty and unfair, he  _does_ , but he feels almost defenseless. Like when he's all that stands between the opposite team and the defeat of his own. Sometimes he feels invincible, sometimes he feels stranded. With the Hufflepuff is usually the latter.

He knows Chanyeol can see the thoughts running through his head because he doesn't wait for an answer. He extends his hand as an invitation, and Baekhyun is reminded of how easy he disarms him when they're playing Quidditch.

But they're not in the field. Park is not his enemy here.

“Let me help you.” He says, like it's easy.

It's really not, Baekhyun thinks to himself, but maybe he has no choice but to give it a chance.

The bubbling inside his chest tells him Park isn't his enemy anywhere else, either.

“Okay.” He says, giving up. “What do I do?”

Chanyeol’s still cautious, but it doesn't make his smile any less blinding. “Come a little closer, I know a scent removing spell.”

“Scent removing sp- Why?” Baekhyun raises his eyebrow as he gets up, taking a couple of steps towards him.

Park shrugs, looking only mildly sheepish. “Back in our fourth year, I helped Hagrid nurse a sick murtlap back to health. She had a nasty infection, the smell was gross.” He grins, reminiscing on his own story. “Professor Flitwick taught it to me before any more of my Housemates passed out as I walked inside the common room.”

Baekhyun figures he should be at least a little surprised, but he isn’t. “How charming.”

A chuckle. “She recovered really well. And she was super cute without the green infection goo around her face. Totally worth it.” Baekhyun knows what murtlaps look like. Cute isn’t a word he’d use. Park is slowing straying away from _thoughtful_ and back to _just weird_. “It’s okay, I won’t accidentally turn your hair pink or something. You can trust me. Not that you wouldn’t look cute with pink hair.”

The Gryffindor has to physically fight away the flush of heat he feels climbing up his ears. “For your information, I happen to look cute with any hair color. But even so, you better fucking not.”

Park looks like he wants to say something to that, with the way he bites down a smile on his lips. Baekhyun rolls his eyes and stands there with his arms open and tell the other to “work his magic”. Chanyeol pulls his wand from the pocket of his robes and points it at him. He’s still giggling from the pun and Baekhyun is starting to regret his decision.

The spell happens without any accidents. He doesn’t feel any different, but the blond assures him it worked.

“Now what?”

Before doing anything else, Chanyeol moves the snakes back to the box, hands impossibly gentle. The animals move around to seek the warmth again but they are slow, not frantic. Baekhyun looks at the Hufflepuff again and finds him patting the floor next to him as an invitation, so he joins him.

Chanyeol seems a lot more eager now that he doesn't have to worry about the snakes biting him. He angles so they're facing each other. “Give me your hands.”

“Um, why?” Baekhyun all but retracts, bringing his hands closer to his body.

“If you smell like me, then they won't mind you being close,” He explains, smiling playing on his lips. “I'll be quick, I promise.”

The sound of the fireplace inside the room isn't loud enough to block the thumping of his heart on his ears. Baekhyun feels defensive and alert, and he really doesn't want to hold hands with Park of all people, but he pushes it all down with a sense of pride. He's a Gryffindor, for Merlin’s sake, he's not letting himself get intimidated.

Slowly, he gives in. Chanyeol’s hands are warm and big, his own hands almost disappearing from view. They feel a little rough, probably from playing Quidditch, but that doesn’t make his touch any less gentle. He rubs his palms over the expanse of his hands and some of his forearm, almost as if he’s trying to keep Baekhyun warm, and Baekhyun gets the feeling he’s being more thorough than he needs to. After what feels like long minutes, Chanyeol stops moving and looks up to smile at him, and Baekhyun finally releases the breath he didn’t even realize he was holding.

“Ready?” He asks, giving his hand a little tug. Baekhyun nods, not trusting his voice not to sound stranded. “Okay, just relax. They’re probably more scared of you than you are of them.”

He honestly doubts that. From a tiny corner of his mind, he remembers these are supposed to be forest guardians, terrifying animals who drive humans insane by just looking at them, but Chanyeol’s grip on his hand and the look on his eyes make those thoughts seem distant. Very carefully, he places Baekhyun’s hand on the bottom of the box, on the far corner from where the snakes are. Fergus raises his head, curious, and starts to slide forward while Gertrude keeps her distance.

“It’s okay, you’re okay,” Chanyeol murmurs softly from behind him, whether is it him or the snakes, Baekhyun can’t tell. He’s close, so close. “You’re doing great.”

He turns his palm up and waits.  Chanyeol lets go of him, but he places his hands so their fingers are touching. Baekhyun appreciates the gesture.

Fergus is very close, attracted by the familiar smell but still wary of letting his guard down. He feels the tip of Baekhyun’s fingers for a few seconds and then slides over to where Chanyeol is. Gertrude doesn’t move from her spot, curling protectively around herself, but she doesn’t attack. She is gravitating towards Park’s familiar presence, but she keeps her distance and Baekhyun accepts it. This is a lot more than he expected to do ever, if the bites on Hagrid’s hands are anything to go by. He feels excited now because the snakes decided not to attack him. He invaded the personal space of the animals and left with all his fingers. He’ll take it.

Park nudges him with his shoulder. “She seems to accept your presence, but I don’t think we’ll get any more than that tonight.” He turns to look and gives him a proud smile. “You did really well.”

Baekhyun agrees and smiles back. He doesn't say anything because honestly, he doesn’t think he can.

They have been quiet for so long that the bark of Fang outside startles the humans just as much as the snakes.

Baekhyun practically jumps from his spot, wiggling as far from Park as he can. Because of the animals, of course.

Professor Hagrid walks in soon after, carrying with him a big glass tank. Apparently, Chanyeol had ordered it from a Muggle place, and it had just arrived at Professor McGonagall’s office. The three of them go around the inside of the hut, looking for the most appropriate place for the terrarium to go, and after some discussion, they settle by the most secluded corner of the room. Not so much of a corner in a circle, Baekhyun thinks, but he keeps it to himself.

After that comes furnishing. They move outside to the Forest edge and red rocks, twigs, tiny logs, the whole thing. Snakes like places to hide, and they need rough surfaces to help them shed. Baekhyun totally doesn’t blush with how pleased Park looks that he knows that. The snakes disappear between the leaves as soon as Chanyeol places them in, seemingly enjoying their new home. The three of them count themselves satisfied.

Before they can go back to the castle, Professor Hagrid suggests they have tea before he can accompany them. With that, the question of how would the feeding of the snakes would go comes up. The easiest decision the make is deciding not to give anything to them directly, opting to use the kitchen tong Hagrid has laying around. As for the food itself, as much as it pains Chanyeol, they also agree that tiny mice would be the safest bet for now. Once a week, maybe even a little more, it’s going to depend on how the animals react.  

Chanyeol has his hand on the doorknob and his coat half on when Baekhyun remembers something important.

“Wait, Summer will be over soon.”

The Hufflepuff blinks. “Uh, yes?”

“Halloween comes right after.” He puts his bag down. “And then it’s Christmas.”

“You’re very…” Chanyeol slowly backs from the door, looking from him to Hagrid. “Observant.”

Baekhyun rolls his eyes. “Shut up, that’s not what I’m talking about.” He turns to the snakes. “We need to work out how to keep them warm, right? They’re used to the humidity and lots of heat.”

“Oh, well remembered!” Baekhyun feels his bones shake from the tap Professor Hagrid gives to his back. “I mentioned it to the headmaster, and she said she might have just the spell!”

It’s a biome replication spell, Hagrid says, and then explains how it’s used to simulate weather and flora conditions on a pocket-sized scale. He also says that it’s a complicated spell, and even Professor McGonagall has to take some time to prepare. Until it’s perfected, they’ll use a common heat spell on the terrarium - simple, but effective.

After that, Hagrid and Fang walk the students back to the bridge. He bids them goodnight just as reach the Clocktower Courtyard, and for the third time that day Baekhyun finds himself alone with the Hufflepuff. Seriously, once was more than enough.  

Especially since he keeps sending these _looks_ his way, and they glint suspiciously of pride.

“Did a bowtruckle climb up your trousers?” He says, turning his face so the other can’t see his rapidly warming cheeks. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Nothing, nothing,” At least Chanyeol sounds flustered. “Did you suddenly turn into Care of Magical Creatures enthusiast?”

Baekhyun isn’t really sure whether or not he should take that personally. “Not really, no.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” The blond shrugs, kicking a pebble out of his way. “You just seemed so eager with the snakes today, caught me off guard. You’re usually so obsessed with Quidditch and all, didn’t think you cared.”

“I care about Hagrid.” His voice comes out a bit too defensive, but it’s okay. “Is that so surprising? That I want to be helpful? That I have other interests?”

“What? No, of course not!” This takes Chanyeol off guard, and he is quick to wave his hands to reinforce his point. “I didn’t mean that. I’m sorry.” He gestures around, a little sheepish. “I meant that as a compliment.”

Baekhyun’s heart rate doesn’t pick up. _It doesn’t_.

He also doesn’t care what Park meant by that. They’re a few steps away from the stairs, and then he can climb up to Gryffindor Tower and Chanyeol will head to the kitchens and he can pretend this evening never happened.

He’s so close, his hand is secured around the handrail. Just a quick farewell and it’ll be over.

“What _do_ you mean, then?”

_Damn it._

Chanyeol studies him for a few seconds, and Baekhyun really regrets his life choices.

“You’re just impressive, that’s all.” He says, giving in. “You’re usually so busy, with your captain duties and your Auror N.E.W.T.s, I barely see you off your broom or outside the library. The fact that not only you’re out this late to help out a friend, but you also took the time to do research, when it’s not even a subject you study,” Chanyeol smiles softly, and his voice is soft too. “Says a lot about you. You’re a great guy, Byun Baekhyun.”

Thankfully to all the hairs on Merlin’s beards, Park doesn’t wait for him to answer. He simply waves him goodnight and goes on his merry way, seemingly not at all affected by that conversation.

Baekhyun’s grip on the handrail is so strong his knuckles are turning white.

It’s a few minutes before he can feel his legs again, and then he too goes on his merry way towards the Gryffindor common room.

And he definitely doesn't lose sleep thinking about it.

  


✧･ﾟ:*✧･*✧･ﾟ:* ･✧

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading see ya soon ;)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is brought to you by the very confusing real life quidditch game  
> (seriously, its insane)

 

✧･ﾟ:*✧･*✧･ﾟ:* ･✧

  


He loses sleep thinking about it.

And he continues to think about it. The next morning, when he almost runs into the Ravenclaw Head Boy, Kim Joonmyun, at the stairs on his way to DAtDA; then later at lunch, when he walks past a giggling group of Hufflepuff girls, and even right now, almost a whole week later, as he watches the Sun hide behind the Summer clouds.

The way Park had worded his thoughts, something about it gave Baekhyun weird itches. Mostly because he was wrong. Chanyeol didn't know his true motives, that the reason behind his volunteering to help professor Hagrid weren't selfless at all. It was Quidditch, it was always about Quidditch, and had the headmaster not forced him, he wouldn't even be there. Baekhyun kept reminding himself that he owed absolutely nothing to the Hufflepuff and that the blond’s opinion of him didn't matter at all, but that odd feeling just wouldn’t go away.

“Yo Byun, just because you’re on captain time-out doesn’t mean you get to play airhead on attack meeting.”

Oh, right. Quidditch. Practice.

He shakes his head, before their first Seeker, Nayeon, can call him out again. Her tone is teasing, but she is right. “Sorry, I’m here.” He says and turns to Jackson, who is waiting for him. “Carry on.”

Jackson nods. “We won’t have a match for another month, so I figured we can hold back actual game practice, and do some partner skill runs for the first half.” He’s speaking at Baekhyun directly, rather than the rest of the team. “I want the rookies to get familiar with our drills, start playing games too, without the pressure of the real thing coming up.”

He sounds like he’s asking, instead of stating. From everyone, Wang seemed to take the news the hardest. He respected Baekhyun as a captain, and he tried, again and again, to convince him to coach the team in private, that none of them would rat out to Madam Hooch, but Baekhyun said no every time. He appreciated his teammate’s loyalty, but if he must do this, then he must do it properly.

Jackson still seems to be waiting for him to say something, so he does. The tactic is good, and he’s glad his teammate thinks the same way he does.

During the next hours, practice goes well. Every now and then someone will turn to him for instructions, and Baekhyun almost obliges out of habit, but he remembers to shrug just in time. His teammates will scowl at him but end up turning to Jackson instead. He thinks it’s a little funny how’s he’s using his captain authority to stop the others from treating him as the captain, but at least it’s working.

With that said, Wang is a merciless coach. They run around the pitch, then they fly around the pitch, they race each other and Baekhyun almost gets cross-eyed with how many Quaffles he needs to watch out for. By the time they are done, he’s completely worn out. The new kids are leaning over each other as Jackson gives his ending pep-talk, and even Lucas, their weariless second Beater, is quieter than usual. Baekhyun thought he was demanding, but Jackson is on a whole other level. He is impressed.

They are all more than ready to hit the showers and rest, so that’s what they do. The team is nearing the edge of the field when they see a group approaching.

“Look, cap.” Nayeon nudges him with her arm. “The badgers are out of their sett.”

Indeed they are.

Their captain walks ahead of the group, and she nods at Baekhyun when they’re close enough. She’s a sixth-year, and honestly, he doesn’t know much about her other than her leadership skills. She brought the team to victory twice in a roll, and that says a lot.

Right behind her are the two Beaters. The younger swings his bat back and forth to wave excitedly at him, so Baekhyun waves back - he can’t help it. Inside of the pitch, Taehyung is a beast, ruthless and mean and absolutely terrifying, but outside he’s so cute and funny and Baekhyun can’t deny his soft spot for him. Their second Beater is this huge guy named Hoseok, with arms as strong as logs and a really deadly aim with a bat. Word around the castle is he’s a big softie, but one can’t be too careful.

The rest of the players pass them without much of a fuss, and they greet each other in the spirit of friendly rivalry. Baekhyun does a double take, but he can’t spot blond hair in the group. He does spot Jongin.

“Hey hyung,” The Seeker says, a mischievous smirk on his lips. “Looking for something?”

Baekhyun rolls his eyes. “Yeah, your brains. I think you dropped them on the way here.”

“Aww, don’t be mean, your boyfriend might hear you!”

To his left, Nayeon tries to hold off a giggle. His Beaters are not as polite. Jongin is grinning in a way Baekhyun can just tell he’s been spending too much time with Sehun. Fucking Sehun.

“Did you get hit in the head by a Bludger? Because it sure sounds like it.”

Before the Hufflepuff can say anything, they get interrupted by the unmistakable  _woosh_ of a broom flying by, with Park on top of it. He looks like he literally flew straight out of bed, robes not properly tied and one glove missing. His hair is messy and his cheeks are flushed red, and Baekhyun really doesn’t know why he notices all of that.

“Hey, sorry I’m late.” He says to his captain as he brings his broom closer to them, floating a few centimeters above the ground. She looks disappointed, but not surprised, and Chanyeol smiles sheepishly.

Next to him, Jongin sees his opportunity, so he grabs it. “Hyung, finally! Byun was asking for you!”

Baekhyun wants to take his own broom and use it to Beat the gel out of the kid’s hair, but Chanyeol turns to him and he kind of forgets why.

“Oh, hey Baekhyun,” He smiles, having just noticed him then. “Were you waiting for me?”

 _Yes_. No? “Um, yeah.” He breathes out. He can hear his teammates sneering, but he forcefully ignores them. “I mean, I was thinking about going to Hagrid’s later today. You could come too. That is, if you want to.” Baekhyun flinches at his own cringe-ness. Bloody grindylows. “Or you know. Whatever.”

“I’d love to!” Chanyeol doesn’t seem to hear anything following the invitation. His face lights up, and he smiles even brighter. “When are you going?”

Well, truthfully, Baekhyun wasn’t planning on going  _anywhere_ , but everyone was looking at him and he felt pressured to come up with a decent enough reason to be waiting around for Chanyeol. Not that he was, because  _why would he_.

“Just, whenever you’re done.” He says, edging his voice to sound nonchalant. “I’m cool.”

The blond exchanges glance with his teammate ’s captain before answering. “Meet me here after our practice?”

Baekhyun nods. “Sure, sounds good.” He starts to walk, almost bumping into one of his Chasers in the process. Jackson’s face is tomato red with the amount of laughter he’s trying to hold back. Baekhyun starts to shoo his team away, looking over his shoulder to wave at Chanyeol. “I’ll bring you some food. Try not to eat too many Bludgers.”

He doesn’t wait to see, but he can tell by the pull on Park’s “ _see ya_.” that he is giggling. He also doesn’t wait for his teammates, taking large steps to put as much distance between himself and the Hufflepuffs as he can in record speed. He can hear the snickering, and it's following him close, so even though he is not supposed to, Baekhyun orders his players to go straight to the showers.

It's around the fifth time Lucas makes kissy faces at him from behind his locker that Baekhyun has  _had it._

“Alright, that's it.” He says, slamming his own locker shut for good measure. “Next person who makes fun of me is running laps around the Great Lake while I personally chase them with a raining spell if they don't want to bench the next two games.”

The other boys quiet down, surprised at the sudden use of authority. Lucas, however, doesn't look as threatened.

“Oh man, that's cute!” The fourth-year says, shaking the water out of his hair and getting everyone wet. “But you ain't captain anymore. You can't tell us what to do.”

Baekhyun turns to Jackson and crosses his arms, but the brunette raises his hands in surrender.

“Don't look at me, he's right! Besides,” He gives him a mocking grin “You're just too easy to mess with, man. I'm not gonna tell them to stop.”

Baekhyun huffs. Leave it to his friends to stop taking him seriously the moment Park is mentioned. “Fine. Whatever. But you're gonna regret this when I get my job back.”

“Does your boyfriend know you're being this vengeful?”

“Oh, go kiss a snargalluf.”

They leave him alone after that, mostly. Baekhyun plans on making their lives a living hell as soon as he's in charge again.

As honorary captain, Wang now is the only one allowed to handle the chest with the balls, so he leaves them to return it to Madam Hooch. The rest of the team starts going their different ways, and Baekhyun ends up going to the west wing with some of the girls. Fortunately for him, none of them seem to care much about Park, focusing instead on gossip on the other players, and Baekhyun is more than happy to chip in a word or two. (Or most. He was the one who brought it up).

Most of the students are on their afternoon break, so he needs to make his way through a couple of groups to get to the Great Hall, but they manage. The smell of stew and sausages fills the entire room, and Baekhyun’s stomach comes to life to remind him that his last meal had been around six hours ago. His teammates wave him goodbye as they run into their friends, and as they leave he looks for an opening spot on the Gryffindor table. He goes straight to it, already daydreaming about the butter that’s going to melt on the freshly baked bread-.

“Byun, there you are! Finally!”

Suddenly, he’s being pulled back. He starts protesting, hand reaching for his wand, but before he can muster a sardine hex his butt hits a bench and suddenly he’s staring at the chicken pie again.

Only this time the students are wearing green and silver instead of red and gold.

Jongdae sits next to him, dusting his robes from dragging Baekhyun all the way across the Great Hall. The Gryffindor chooses not to argue in favor of food.

“Well, hello to you, too,” Jongdae says, returning to his pudding. Baekhyun has his mouth too full to reply, so he makes an unintelligible noise. The Slytherin rolls his eyes. “What took you so long?”

“Just,” Baekhyun takes a pause to swallow, then looks around for more corn.  “The usual. Practice stuff.”

“Uh huh,” He moves his glass out of the way before Baekhyun can knock it over as he’s reaching for food. A couple of Slytherin girls give him a look, but he’s too hungry to care. “Anyway, I was thinking we could go to study by the greenhouses, for a change. The weather is so nice, I don’t want to be stuck in here all day.”

Baekhyun stops mid-chew. Shit.

“Uhhhh,” He starts, trying his best not to look Jongdae’s way. “Yeah, about that. I’m gonna have to reschedule.”

“What do you mean, _reschedule_?”

“I mean no can do,” He shrugs. “Sorry, man. Same time next week?”

Jongdae blinks. “Same time next-. Baekhyun, what the hell?”

“I have…” He stops, waving his fork around to buy time. What? What does he have? “Practice..?”

“You just came back from practice.”

“Special… Practice?”

“Seriously, Baekhyun.” Jongdae huffs. “The year barely started and you're already pulling this shit again?” He pulls the plate away from Baekhyun to get his attention. It works.

“Sorry, okay? I forgot!” The Gryffindor reaches over to get it back, but Jongdae only extends his arm further, using his free hand to push Baekhyun's face. “Give it back!”

“You are the one who's failing History of Magic, did you forget that, too?” Baekhyun starts pushing his friend's face and gets a slap to the nose. “Stop that!”

He does, but he does it dramatically. “No. I didn't forget. It's just...” He feels his cheeks start to warm, so he gestures around vaguely.

“What? You just what?”

“He’s got a date with Chanyeol.”

 _What_.

They both turn to the direction the voice came from. Fucking Oh Sehun. Sitting there with half a cookie.

“What?!” Jongdae exclaims, attracting the attention of half the school.

“Where did you even come from!” Baekhyun points, and then takes advantage of a distraction to get his lunch back.

“Hellooooo!” Jongdae taps his hands on the table. “A date? Really?” He turns to face Baekhyun. “Already? I'm impressed.”

Sehun nods. “He was the one who asked, too.”

“Oh, did he now?” Jongdae's grin is so evil, Baekhyun wiggles himself further away, just to be safe.

“I did no such thing! Who told you that?”

“Jongin.”

 _Fucking Jongin._ “How?!”

“You know what,” Jongdae waggles his eyebrows. “Don't worry about me, you kids enjoy your date.”

Baekhyun mumbles a little. “Uhm, it's not really a date.”

The sixth-year shooes him with his half cookie. “Aren't you late already? Get out of our table.”

There's clearly still food on his plate, and Baekhyun isn't even close to being satisfied, but that doesn't stop the Slytherins from shoving him away from their table. He’s arguing back nonsenses, internally debating if he should try to reclaim his plate or just make a new one altogether, but Jongdae is faster. He senses it, and before Baekhyun can do anything, he's being pulled backwards by a wave of his friend's wand and Sehun's salute of goodbye. He does manage to curse out the next six generations of Kims and Ohs before he is out of the hall, turning a right and disappearing.

Jongdae's spell stops working just a couple of meters away from the Infirmary. Baekhyun stands up straight and notices the group of first years right in front of him as he’s adjusting his robes. The kids look like they want to laugh, so he stares back, threats concealed in his eyes. The first years scatter around, and honestly, scaring off children isn't his proudest moment, but he can blame that one on Jongdae.

He decides to take the long way to the castle gardens. There's another term about to begin, so is best to just avoid the crowded hallways for now. After some time, the chatter of the other students becomes so distant they're barely audible, but Baekhyun still looks around, just in case. He looks at his right hand, at the ring on his middle finger where the Byun family crest rests proudly. He snaps his fingers three times and waits.

“Master Baekhyun, how can I help you?”

(The ring connects the members of the Byun family to their house. Shall they snap with their ring finger thrice, the loyal house-elf will come to serve).

“Hey Gilly,” He greets, shaking the elf tiny’s hand. “Is that a new coat?”

“It is! Bought it with my own payment!” She gives a bright smile and twirls around to show it off. “Do you like it?”

“I love it!” He nods, and the elf claps her hands. “Pink really suits you!”

“Thank you, master Baekhyun!” She bows. “Now, what can I do for you?”

“Could you go down to the kitchens and pack me some food to go, please?” He stops - how exactly should he put this. “It’s for another student. I’m sure the other elves won’t mind.”

“You mean like a picnic?” She looks at him expectantly. “Are they for your friend?”

Baekhyun blinks. “Uhm, yes? I guess so.”

“Oh, yes I can! Give me a second!”

She disappears before Baekhyun can say anything in return. He is left looking around the empty hallway, wondering just how he always ends up in situations like these. This is what it’s come to? Waiting for Park Chanyeol to end his bloody Quidditch practice and bring him a picnic basket? Honestly, what next? They get together for tea? Reading each other notes in front of the fireplace? Just the thought of it sends shudders down his spine.

They’re barely even friends, Baekhyun can’t fill two hands with things he knows about the Hufflepuff. Six years studying in the same school and the only times he actually spoke with Park were their shared classes during their first years, and eventually when their friend groups mixed. Acquaintances at best.

Something in the back of his mind annoyingly reminds him that’s never too late to make friends, but Baekhyun thinks he already has enough to do. He’s certain Park doesn’t care if they’re buddies or not. He sure doesn’t. No way.

“I’m back!” A voice calls from his right, startling Baekhyun. It’s Gilly, holding an _actual picnic basket_ that’s way too big for her size. “Sorry to keep you waiting!”

“Um, thank you, Gilly.” He takes the basket from her, opening it to check. There’s food for at least five people.  “You didn’t have to do all this, I just wanted a sandwich.”

The elf shakes her head. “Absolutely not! Any friend of master Baekhyun is a friend of mine!”

The Gryffindor grimaces. That’s just what it looks like, isn’t it?

He thanks his house-elf once again before she disapparates back to the Byun manor. He has no other choice now than to bring the tiny feast along with him to the training field. If anything, Baekhyun is just glad he chose the emptiest path, because he’d rather let the ground swallow him whole than explain to any of this friends just what he’s about to do.  

It’s not a particularly hot day, but the Sun is still warm and the breeze welcomes him as he steps outside. From a distance, he can see that the Hufflepuff team is still active. There are brooms flying around in formation towards the goals, Beaters sending the Bludgers back and forth and what he assumes is the Seekers flying higher up than the rest. He’s almost by the edge of the pitch, and he can now make out the commands their captain is screaming out.

Baekhyun stops just by the foot of the stairs that lead to the bleachers, going inside before any of the players can spot him (and his basket).

Now, here’s the thing. It’s against the rules for a captain to spy on adversary team’s practices. Not only that, it’s frowned up and considered a form of cheating. Never in his three years as a captain had Baekhyun even considered to do such a thing.

But he’s not the captain anymore, is he?

He pulls his wand before his pride can convince him otherwise and murmurs a simple disillusionment charm over himself. It’s not powerful enough to make him fully invisible, but it will do for the time being. He takes a deep breath and starts climbing, careful not to knock anything over and attract unwanted attention. Baekhyun sits down and makes a mental note to hold the next Gryffindor meeting at the Practice Pitch, where there are no spectator stands, just to be safe.

Hufflepuff practices are… different.

As far as Baekhyun can tell, their tactic strays a little from the traditional points Madam Hooch teaches the students. The different position players stay close together, playing out their routines over each other, around each other, with each other. At least two different times Baekhyun saw their goalkeeper have to dodge a Bludger because the Beaters had been flying too close by. It’s certainly uncommon, but it’s not as chaotic as he expected it. It's almost organic. The way they all move as one, aware of where the other is and keeping it balanced.

His eyes follow Chanyeol. He can't help it, being so used to keep watch of the Chaser when they're playing, it's almost second nature. But something about seeing him from the bleachers, it's always different. The way he flies is so thoughtless like he's one with his broom - it's hypnotizing. Even though sometimes it looks like a clash is about to happen, Chanyeol flows easily around, as if it is nothing. It's beautiful to watch, honestly.

Until he changes.

Baekhyun hears the whistle before he sees the change. The captain was the one who blew it, and suddenly he sees a spark on Chanyeol’s eyes that wasn't there a moment ago.

It's fierce.

The players pick up speed, scattering around the pitch. At the time it happens, Chanyeol has hold of the Quaffle, and now Baekhyun realizes he's being targeted. The entire team goes towards him, Seekers included. Park is fast, he's always been, but he can't dodge them for long. Before Baekhyun can process it, the blond is being cornered, two players glued to his sides, others not far, and they're forcing him down. At the speed they're flying, a crash like that will surely injury him, a broken arm or worse. Park tightens his hold on the Quaffle and smiles.

What is he doing? Why won't their captain stop it? Baekhyun is gripping the edge of his seat, forcing himself not to look away when they finally hit the ground.

It happens so fast that he's glad he didn't blink. One second Chanyeol is mere meters away from diving face-first into the ground, the next he's letting go. He slides right off his broom, and the players with him have no choice but to guide themselves up to avoid the crash. One of the Chasers loses control of her broom and ends up sliding from it, but the fall doesn't look too bad. As they flash by, the broom flies backward and back to Chanyeol. He’s back on the air so fast Baekhyun can barely trust his own eyes.

He keeps close to the ground, and without the taggers breathing down his neck, avoiding the rest seems easy. He’s being rough, taking sharp turns and letting his broad build shove away the others. The Bludgers fly fast and dangerous past where his head had been a millisecond prior, and Baekhyun has never been more in trance. Chanyeol brings himself upwards, knocking Hoseok out of his broom in the process. His eyes have fire and he's going for the hoops.

The keeper decides her best chance is to fly and stop him herself, but Baekhyun knows she doesn't stand a chance. He knocks her over, and the goal comes easily. The whistle of the captain is heard once again, and they flying stops.

“Alright, let's call it for today!” She says, and the players start to land one by one. “Team talk in the lockers, good job everybody!”

It takes a while, but Baekhyun doesn't dare move until all the Hufflepuffs are out of sight. His heart is beating so fast one would think he was the one out there playing.

He had never seen Chanyeol like that.

The Chanyeol that plays against Gryffindor is always smiling. Sure, he's fast and he's sneaky and his aim almost never fails, but he’s always smiling at Baekhyun, but he's never smiling like  _that_. Like he's vicious, confident, dangerous - like the goal is his prey.

It makes Baekhyun think of how it would feel to be the one guarding the hoops. Having Chanyeol’s hungry eyes set to him, have him fly at him with such voracious intent, not caring who or what stands in his way.

He can feel sweat sliding down his temple. Something about Chanyeol's eyes. He wants Chanyeol to look at him like that, too.

 _He does_?

He tugs at his own tie, making it looser. What the fuck.

Baekhyun opens his eyes and tries to calm his breathing. He counts backward from twenty and forces his brain do digest just what had happened. Did he just get turned on by watching Quidditch? Did that really just happen?

It's an intense game, sure, but then nine out of ten times the only frustration he feels like getting out on other players is aggression. (The other is the captain of the Slytherin team, Sooyoung, but that one doesn't need explaining).

It's probably just your own build up tension, he tells himself, no need to think too much about it. He’s hormonal. These things happen. It's totally cool. He blames it entirely on the extremely confusing practice tactics the Hufflepuffs used. Park is one of the school’s finest players, it's perfectly acceptable to be impressed. He was caught off guard, that's all.

He opens the picnic basket and pulls out a water bottle. He drinks all of it in one go, but it helps slow down his heart rate. Baekhyun looks over to where the changing rooms are and gets up. He probably doesn't have much time before Chanyeol comes back, and he doesn't want to look suspicious. He picks his belongings and goes down, hoping to Merlin that the stairs will eat him whole.

  


✧･ﾟ:*✧･*✧･ﾟ:* ･✧

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you're wondering, only seven people play the matches, but there are a few benches in case idk, someone dies, so that's why there's more than one seeker/two beaters, etc. 
> 
>  
> 
> thank you for reading  
> <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO FRIENDS IT IS I
> 
> I have two things to say: first, i graduated!!!!!!! sort of!!! i submitted my final assignment and thats why i havent been around the past month!!! but its done!!!!! now i'm left to pretend not to have to adult for some time lmao
> 
> second is. love shot. thats all.

 

✧･ﾟ:*✧･*✧･ﾟ:* ･✧

 

Baekhyun guesses it’s a good thing Chanyeol becomes virtually useless once there’s food involved.

He meets the blond just by the path leading back to the castle, nonchalantly saying he had just arrived. He had a whole speech even, to explain why he brought it, but the second Park noticed the picnic basket, he was done for. They sat by a tree just before the path that leads towards Hagrid’s hut, and Chanyeol began inhaling the food, barely sparing Baekhyun a glance.

They walk alongside the path, Baekhyun suggesting they eat inside but the Hufflepuff dismisses it, saying he has a better idea instead. Chanyeol leads him to this particularly tall tree, just at the highest point of the field at the end of The Wooden Bridge, and they sit down beneath it.  

Once the basket is open, Chanyeol doesn’t talk to him once. He inhales the mini sandwiches, no pauses for breathing let alone chew. Baekhyun wants to get one for himself, but he’s sort of scared his hand is going to get bitten off.  He understands, he also gets insanely hungry after Quidditch practice and considering just how hard Park had played that practice. No wonder he was so spent, after doing all of that.

He can’t stop replaying the scene in his head, and something about it affects him every time. It's a tugging at his sides, it’s a rush, it’s something. He’s glad the Hufflepuff is too busy stuffing his face with snacks because he’s not too sure he can face him right now. Or never. His heart is racing, and the way things are going, he can’t tell if it’s because of something new or if it never slowed down in the first place.  

No. Don’t think about it. Let it go.

Somewhere between the tenth and twentieth piece of meat pie, Chanyeol calms down. He seems to wake up from his food trance and pushes the basket closer to Baekhyun, but his smile is not as half embarrassed as it should be. Baekhyun rolls his eyes and joins him.

Baekhyun lets himself lean against the tree as the two of them talk half-heartedly about their weeks. The Sun is just about to set, the sky is orange and the grass is warm, he shouldn’t feel comfortable but he is, and his eyelids start to feel heavy. The breeze brings the smell of the forest to them, and his worries start to get smaller and smaller.

He doesn’t notice Chanyeol is lying down until he hears his voice from below.

“How was your practice today?” He says in a lazy voice, pulling his bag and robes into a pile and placing them behind his head as a makeshift pillow.  “Still giving your kid hell?”

Baekhyun turns to face him. “My kid?”

“Yeah, the second Keeper? Kim something?”

Oh, right. “You mean Yugyeom?” He smiles, remembering the fourth-year. Baekhyun doesn’t give him hell, but he doesn’t baby his players either. “It’s not easy being the Keeper, you know. He needs to be ready.”

“He’s got some pretty big shoes to fill,” Chanyeol nods. “Word around the castle is you’re the best Keeper Hogwarts has had in decades.”

Baekhyun chuckles. That’s rich coming from the one person who always finds a way around him. “Says who?”

“Pretty much everyone. Professor McGonagall, Madam Hooch. Our own Keeper.” The corners of his smile curl up. “I say it a lot, too.”

Baekhyun takes his eyes from Chanyeol and stares ahead, where the Quidditch pitch is still visible in the distance. The flags are dancing lazily, and the last rays of sunshine reflect from the hoops. He can feel the Hufflepuff’s eyes on him, but he doesn’t turn around.

“Not good enough for you, right?” He says, voice barely above a whisper. A beat later he realizes how it sounds. “I mean, in the field. Not good enough to stop your Quaffles, that’s what I mean.” He waves his hands around, for good measure. He doesn’t know where that came from.

He waits, but the other stays silent. With some luck, he’s just going to laugh and move on, as he does with everything conversation between the two of them. There’s no response, and the only way of finding out is if Baekhyun gathers enough courage to turn his face. He does, and he finds Chanyeol lying completely still. His eyes are closed and his chest moves slowly with his steady breathing.

He’s sleeping.

Baekhyun lets out a breath and studies the Hufflepuff’s peaceful expression. Well. At least something in the Universe still takes pity on him. He rubs his face, trying to force some sense back into his head. What is it with him today? He keeps getting surprised by his own behavior and it’s starting to freak him out a bit. He leans further back into the tree and sliding down in the process.

Over the hills in the distance, the Sun is getting lower and lower, and they really should get going. He almost doesn’t want to wake up Chanyeol so he doesn’t have to deal with whatever this is. Or isn’t. It’s been such a draining day, it’s taken its toll on Baekhyun’s brain. He’s sleepy, his thoughts are fuzzy, his tummy keeps giving him funny feelings and he’s not sure of what to do.

He turns to the side, to face Chanyeol. He has a phantom of a smile on his lips and no concerns at all. Baekhyun wonders if his will disappear too if he joins him.

The plan was to take a small nap, so you can imagine his surprise when he wakes up to soft calls of his name. It’s a lot colder now, but Baekhyun feels as he was wrapped in something warm. He opens his eyes and needs to blink the blurriness away. The Sun has fully set and the sky is full of stars. Baekhyun lifts himself to sit up and looks around, turning right to Chanyeol’s face. He’s standing really close, sleepy lopsided smile and hair a mess.

Baekhyun breathes out. “Hey.”

“Hi,” His voice was still low from sleepy. He's not sure why, but it sounds better. “How was your nap?”

“Unexpected. What about yours?”

“Really nice.” He nods toward the picnic basket. It’s fallen to the side, lid completely shredded and pieces of plastic all around to tell the tale. “I’m afraid some animal stole the rest of our food. Sorry about the basket.”

Baekhyun cocks his head to the side. “That’s okay. Nothing _Reparo_ can’t fix. Do you know what time it is?”

“A little past seven. If we go back now, we’ll be just in time for dinner.” He turns to the end of the hill, towards Hagrid’s Hut. “Too late to visit the snakes, though. Can’t risk getting detention.”

He can't tell if he feels disappointed or not. Park makes it sound like a missed window of some sort, and Baekhyun can’t take the look on his face. “That’s okay, Park. I’m sure they’ll forgive you.”

Chanyeol giggles. “Actually, I went to see them this morning.” He turns to give him a pointed look. “You should worry about yourself, they haven’t seen you all week.”

He owes Park absolutely nothing, he reminds himself. The hint of disappointment shouldn't cause any guilt, any sting. But he still says, “Yeah, I know. I'm sorry.” He blinks away from Chanyeol's piercing eyes. “Just. A lot to do, I’ll go over the weekend.”

He's still not looking, he can tell the Hufflepuff is staring at him, studying him. He hears Chanyeol sigh before he replies. “It's okay, I understand. You have a lot to do.”

None of his words have any accusing undertones, but apparently, that's just what Baekhyun keeps hearing. It likely has nothing to do _with_ Chanyeol, but just his own sense of duty. When he looks up the Hufflepuff is standing up. He dusts his pants and turns to the remains of the picnic basket. He pulls his wand and performs what Baekhyun thinks is the messiest _Reparo_ charm he's ever witnessed, but it does the job just fine. Chanyeol is a much less elegant wizard than Baekhyun, but he doesn't look less skilled. He just has a questionable technique. For years now, that was always something the Gryffindor found fascinating about him.

Or weird. Could be just weird.

“There you go,” Chanyeol smiles as he hands him the basket. “Good as new!”

“Thank you, you didn't have to.” Baekhyun takes it. He has the urge to turn it around and inspect it the spell was throughout but he also kind of doesn't want to offend Chanyeol.

The Hufflepuff shakes his head. “That’s nothing. I feel bad for falling asleep on you.”

He then motions so they can start their walk back to the castle. For two people who are technically both late for supper, neither one is taking quick steps. Baekhyun rolls the basket around in his arms.

“I mean, I fell asleep too. We can split the blame, how about that?” He turns to the other, amusement in his voice.

Chanyeol grins. “Spoken like a true captain.”

“Yeah,” Baekhyun can feel his own smile falter. He avoids the Hufflepuff's eyes before he can notice a difference. “Old habits, I guess.”

This silence feels heavier somehow, and Baekhyun is scared maybe he didn't hide his feelings well enough. Chanyeol doesn't say anything and for a while, they just walk. The wind on the trees and the muffled sound of their steps on the soft grass is all that can be heard, save for the occasional cricket or owl. Baekhyun turns to give the Quidditch pitch one last look before it disappears from view, and he notices that Chanyeol notices it too.

He only talks again when they are inside the gates, the cold feeling locked away with the night.

“You can ask, you know,” Chanyeol says, trying to sound nonchalant. Baekhyun turns and raises an eyebrow. “About my magic. I know you want to, I can tell.”

“I wouldn't want to be rude.”

“You won't, don't worry.” Baekhyun can see there's a curl on the corner of his lips even if he is still facing forward. “We're friends, right?”

Baekhyun sucks in a breath. “Right.”

“Then you can ask me anything.”

He stops walking, and Chanyeol does too. He wants to ask, of course, but there's a huge red light flashing inside of his a brain. _It's a trap, you bloody moron,_ it tells him. He can hear it perfectly. He's not friends with Park. They're classmates, friendly rivals, acquaintances out of politeness, that's all. Friendship had never been an issue, so why now? What do any of them have to gain? What do any of them have to lose? Baekhyun is feeling inclined to just give up already, but he has pride. His principles can't be broken that easily. It's just a dumb question, not his life story. He'll be fine.

It's all under control. Keep your friends close and your enemies at a reasonably safe distance, that's how it goes, right?

Right.

“Why is it so,” He waves his hand around, looking for a word to describe it. “Weird?” _Good one, Byun_. “No offense.”

To his credit, Chanyeol laughs. “None taken. Professor Sprout used to think it was because of my growth spurt.” He spreads his arms and swings them a little. “Long limbs I couldn't control too well, hence the weird.”

“Huh,” Makes sense, he figures.

“Professor McGonagall thinks it's because my magic is just too irregular. Zero or a hundred, no in between.” His grin is so big Baekhyun can see all his teeth. His dumb hair is still messy and his dumb ears poking out. Dumb, dumb, dumb. “So to make up for it, my wand movements need to be a little exaggerated, otherwise they don’t work.”

Baekhyun scoffs. He's seen trolls handle a wand more gracefully. “A _little_? Park, please.”

“Fine, a lot.” He rolls his eyes. “I also usually throw in an extra shake or two. Personally, I think it adds to my charm, don't you?”

He doesn’t know what to say. “I guess. What do _you_ think is the reason?”

“I love magic.” Chanyeol smiles at him as if they're sharing a secret. “Ever since the day Yoora got her letter, I kept wondering if I was like her. I mean, we were all pretty surprised when the guy from the Ministry showed up at our house saying she was a witch but like, looking back, she did some pretty weird stuff that mom and dad couldn't explain.” He’s leaning his side on the wall now, and Baekhyun does the same. “I didn't have that, you know? I was a regular Muggle kid.”

Baekhyun doubts _regular_ is a word that could ever describe the Hufflepuff but he keeps it to himself. Chanyeol is staring out the window now. He looks pensive as if he needs time to actually talk about this. As if it is a subject he avoids.

He still doesn't look at Baekhyun. “I was so scared that my eleventh birthday would come and no one would show up at our door to tell me I was special, too. Nothing ever is going to compare to how happy I was when it happened. I cried for a week.” He chuckles. “This school is the best thing that's ever happened to me. I tried so hard on my first year because I was terrified Professor McGonagall would realize she made a mistake, that I wasn't like my sister and send me home. I was always setting things on fire.” He pauses to giggle again. Baekhyun remembers. Park was quite dangerous to sit next to during their first year. He turns to him with a shy smile. “Maybe that's why I'm so flamboyant, you know? I'm just excited that I get to do it, too.”

The Gryffindor is a little at loss for words. He wasn't expecting an answer this personal and he feels a little overwhelmed. It's not a feeling he can relate to, magic always being second nature in his family. There was never a doubt that he belonged. Baekhyun can't even begin to imagine how that must have felt like.

“This must sound ridiculous to a pureblood, huh?” Chanyeol has a small trace of hurt in his voice. “You're probably thinking I'm pathetic?”

“No, I would never!” Baekhyun shakes his head for emphasis. “It's just, I'm sorry. That must have been awful.”

Chanyeol accepts it. “Could've been worse. Couldn't have gotten that letter at all.”

“But you did,” He points. “That'd be a shame, too. Imagine what the Hufflepuff team would do without you?”

He looks away so Baekhyun can't see him blushing. “Just fine, I guess. I’m really not that good.”

“Well, they're not the ones giving me a hard  time, are they?”

An accomplice smile. “I guess not.”

Chanyeol nudges him with his shoulder and they both start walking again. He can't tell what time it is, but his stomach is growling so it's gotten late, later than it should have. Nights out with the Hufflepuff seem to have become a regular occurrence these days. They're a couple of steps away from the Great Hall when Baekhyun pokes Chanyeol.

“Hey, Park,” He says and he can't help but smile. “I think I like your theory better.”

The Hufflepuff is beaming now, brighter than the lanterns around them. “I like it better, too.”

 

✧･ﾟ:*✧･*✧･ﾟ:* ･✧

 

Playing by McGonagall's rules lasts a little less than a month and honestly, Baekhyun is impressed it even got this far.

All it takes for the role of captain to come crashing down on him is a look into the schedule for the first official games for this year's Quidditch Cup. The first match is in four weeks, Slytherin vs. Hufflepuff. Gryffindor will be playing Ravenclaw three weeks after that. It's time enough, but then the rush inside is buzzing with excitement, and the desire to win starts to outgrow everything else.

He spends thirty percent of his free time discussing techniques and drills with Jackson and the other seventy practicing. He's timing his speed, training his eyes, working out strategies, the whole deal. Any match against Ravenclaw is dangerous, and he can't slack off. The blue team has this bulky kid for a Seeker, and for the past three years, he's never missed the Golden Snitch. Nayeon is good, but that Ravenclaw kid is insane. Their victory depends on how many goals Baekhyun can block so his Chasers can catch up to the extra one hundred and fifty. He can't take any chances.

As for the snakes, he does visit them once or twice. The first time he knocks on Hagrid’s door that week he has a guilty smile on and some excuses ready to go, but his professor welcomes him like nothing’s changed. He spends most the afternoon with them, he helps Hagrid measure their old shed skins to predict further growth, but it's inconsistent. Over the past month, the reptiles have grown around five inches each, possibly even more for Gertrude, he can't tell. Chanyeol isn't there and neither he or Hagrid dare to get too close to check.

The next time he goes, Park is already there. To say the Hufflepuff seems surprised to see him is an understatement.

Even after the so-called _friendship agreement_ they both seemed to have, not much has changed. Mostly because Baekhyun has been far too busy and honestly, quite a bit embarrassed. He has run into Park during their shared Charms, but someone is always late enough for something that they barely have time to talk. More than once he sensed Park's gaze on him during meals in the Great Hall, all of which he pretended not to notice. If he's been eating with the Slytherins it's not because it's the furthest from the Hufflepuff table. His cousin kicked him in the shin one time, asking if he had broken up with Park already. Needless to say, he hexed Sehun's soup to burn his tongue and shut his mouth.

Once the Gryffindor closes the door behind him, he nods at Baekhyun from where he's sitting on the floor with Gertrude, but that's all. He turns his focus back to the sketch he was working on, adjusting the cover of his horribly worn out notebook so it doesn't slide off his lap. Baekhyun takes quiet steps around the Hut until he reaches the snake log the three of them have been keeping their discoveries. There's some new sketches and attached pictures and most of the scribbles notes are in Chanyeol's handwriting, with a few comments by Professor Hagrid.

They say nothing to each other and Baekhyun sighs before going towards the terrarium. He should see if he can find any more dry skin, and it's best to do it while Gertrude is away. He pulls the lid out of the tank and checks the temperature, writing it down along with the humidity level. The electronic meter device is one of the many Muggle gadgets Park had brought to the Hut to aid with the research. Unfortunately, Professor McGonagall to perfect the biome simulation spell, so the snakes have been staying warm by a portable _Lumos Solem_ , courtesy of Baekhyun. Even if that was his only contribution to animals.

He uses a wooden spoon to rummage around the tank, careful not to bother Fergus too much, but he has no luck. There are shreds of skin, but none of them are complete enough to be of any use so he leaves them on the trash. He looks around for any leaves that are too dry or plants that are too dead and removes them, already planning on going outside for more. On the back of his head, Baekhyun recalls a class from Professor Neville about this tree that could generate heat and he wonders if he can shrink one small enough to fit inside the tank. Maybe he should look into that sometime this week.

There's some skin stuck under a rock and the spoon isn't helping in any way so Baekhyun puts it to the side and reaches in with his hand, after checking that Fergus is, in fact, far away from him. It gets easier once he's elbows deep inside the tank and all his limbs remain attached to his body.

Suddenly there's a presence behind him. He didn't hear any movement, but he knows it's approaching.

“Watch your fingers,” Chanyeol says. He's right next to Baekhyun, his breath tickling hairs in his neck. “Can't catch any Quaffles if you lose them.”

Baekhyun removes his hands from the tank just before Gertrude slides in. She purposely avoids the places that now have his scent. “She still doesn't like me.” He sighs, mostly to himself.

“She'd like you a lot better if she actually _knew_ you, Baekhyun.”

The Gryffindor doesn't get a chance to reply to that because of the sound of the door being pushed open. Hagrid walks in and shouts an excited hello to which Chanyeol shushes him, avidly nodding his head towards the snakes. Their professor apologizes in hushed tones and Baekhyun opens space for him when he comes to the tank to check on the reptiles. He pretends to be busy elsewhere while Chanyeol updates Hagrid on his discoveries of the day. They talk for some time, discussing the possibility of moving the snakes outside, to some sort of greenhouse with a controlled environment, due to their rapid growth.

It's a problem, Baekhyun knows. These are magical creatures they know very little about, they should be prepared for anything. He stares at the tank from a distance, not sure if Gertrude is staring back at him or only at her own reflection on the glass. He wants to help, he just doesn't know how.

“Baekhyun?” A voice calls. Baekhyun blinks his stare away from the tank and looks for the voice. It's Hagrid. “Will you help me with something outside? It'll be quick.”

He nods and follows as Hagrid leads him outside. They don’t go far, just by the edge of the Hut’s backyard where Hagrid kept some firewood and some tools. It’s getting colder each day, summer finally coming to an end. Baekhyun waits to see with what exactly his professor needs his help for, but his gut feeling tells him there’s none. Fang joins them, bumping his big head under the Gryffindor’s hand.

Hagrid hands him a lantern. “They’re incredible animals, the boitatas,” He says, placing the wood on the wheelbarrow. “These creatures are so misunderstood, but they can teach us so much, you know? More than any other wizard.”

Hagrid doesn’t look like he’s done, so Baekhyun doesn’t say anything, just moves the lantern closer, Fang still close to his side. They’re looking into the Forest now, even though they can’t see longer than a few meters out of the property.

“For a very long time, the creatures in those woods were my only friends. People didn’t understand me, just like they don’t understand these animals. Caring for them, learning about them, it’s something that gives me joy in life. It’s part of me, you know?” He turns to look back at Baekhyun and there’s something in his eyes that makes Baekhyun want to turn and run, but he doesn’t. “Is that how playing Quidditch makes you feel?”

Baekhyun swallows. He considers Hagrid one of his dearests professors, but now he’s caught completely off guard. “I’m. I think so.”

“If you have to think, then it’s probably not it.”

His first instinct is to lash out, ask Hagrid who he thinks he is to assume something like that, to use it to get back at Baekhyun for not being fully committed to babysitting some South American snakes in favor of Quidditch. It’s the most important thing in his life. He doesn’t think so, he _knows_ so. He has to lead his team to victory at least once. If he doesn’t, then what was the point? Is he really even good? Did he deserve to be named captain after all? If he can’t even win the Quidditch Cup, then how could he ever become a good auror?

“I didn’t mean to upset you, Byun, but you must understand,” Hagrid grabs the last piece of wood from the stand. “You should set your priorities. I feel that maybe you’ll learn that there are far more important things in life than winning every Quidditch game,” He places his hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder. “And I don’t mean the animals, you know?”

“Not to be disrespectful, professor,” Baekhyun takes a couple of steps back, the weight sliding from his shoulder. “But right now, I don’t think there is.”

His heart is pounding on his ears. He can’t tell if he’s angry, tired, or confused. Or all three. All he knows right now is that he’s not wrong. He can’t be wrong. Hagrid’s eyes are burning on him.

“Just, promise me you’ll think about it, okay?” He says, finally. He doesn’t look back when he pushes the wheelbarrow back to his home. “Oh, I almost forgot. Professor McGonagall wants to talk to you about something.”

 

✧･ﾟ:*✧･*✧･ﾟ:* ･✧

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy comeback to you all because lord knows jongin murdered me.
> 
> see you next week <3


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first of all happy new year!!! i hope you had a great time during the holidays <3
> 
> second, I'm really sorry about the late update. the holidays can be busy, and i got stuck with other projects and i'm grateful to everyone who left a kudos/bookmark and even more so those who take time to leave comments, they really mean a lot and i'm happy people actually like this <33
> 
> now let's get to it. 
> 
> ps. sometimes i worry i'm making these boys too dumb, but then I remember they're teenage boys, and i worry i'm not making them dumb enough smh

 

✧･ﾟ:*✧･*✧･ﾟ:* ･✧

  


Gryffindors are supposed to be brave. Courageousness and boldness are the heart and soul of their house.

Or that's what Baekhyun keeps repeating to himself over and over at the hallway, waiting for Professor McGonagall to let him into her office. He's fidgeting with his fingers as he runs the well-rehearsed apologies under his breath. He's not quite sure why she's invited him back but he has a couple of wild guesses. The hippogriff guarding the stairs open its wings and it startles him. Baekhyun takes one last look to each side of the hallway to make sure no one saw him, takes a deep breath and climbs.

Professor McGonagall seems to far to busy to do more than nod in acknowledgment of his presence. She gestures around to let Baekhyun know he can make himself comfortable wherever while she finishes signing some papers. The room looks exactly the same as it did a month ago when he first got himself into his mess, save some paintings that are now even less interested in him. If Baekhyun were not fearing for his life, he’d start small talk with the former headmasters.

It’s only sometime later that he finally learns why he’s there. McGonagall is not screaming, nor does she look disappointed and/or angry, so Baekhyun is kind of taken by surprise. She asks him how the Quidditch team is adapting to the new arrangements, about his studies, and about the snakes. She seems perfectly satisfied with his mumbled answers, eyes still trained to the sheets of parchment, pausing only to give Baekhyun quick glances through her glasses. Turns out all she wanted was to discuss the development of that one biome simulation spell. She’s perfected it, of course, but unfortunately, it’s a highly complicated spell and the smallest she can make the range is a diameter of around one hundred meters. Their only choice would be to cast it in a controlled space inside of the Forbidden Forest, but she advises him to look for an alternative.

He asks why he’s the one receiving this information and not Professor Hagrid, or even Chanyeol, and she gives him a calculating look. _You’re the best at spells_ , she says, like it somehow gives him any guidance on decision making, and tells him to go back, otherwise he’ll miss supper. Baekhyun leaves her office even more confused than he was when he first entered.

It’s late into the evening, so instead of dwelling too much, he clears his mind and sets towards the Great Hall, worrying with what to have for dinner instead. He skips stair steps on his way down, greeting a group of fifth year Gryffindors leaving the library, some of his teammates included. All the students can talk about is the upcoming match against Ravenclaw, oozing in confidence and excitement. They're all congratulating Baekhyun because he's the team favorite. It sets off an uncomfortable wave down his tummy, but he still smiles despite himself.

Once the group reaches the Great Hall, Baekhyun’s eyes instantly run through the table on the far right, scanning the yellow robes and ties. He spots Chanyeol chatting with some of his classmates animatedly, stuffing his face with food. An annoying part of his brain keeps poking him to go over there and share with the Hufflepuff what the headmaster told him, but it’s only a small part, so naturally, Baekhyun makes a beeline to the other side of the room to sit with his cousin, instead.

Sehun is playing with some sort of Muggle device Baekhyun has never seen in his life and next to him is Kyungsoo, absorbed in his History of Magic homework. Jongdae is a couple of seats over, trying to woo a sixth year Slytherin with his non-existing charms. Neither of them acknowledges Baekhyun when he sits across from them.

“Where’s your boyfriend?” He asks, making himself noticed by the group.

“Talking to the Head of Hufflepuff,” Kyungsoo says, at the same time Sehun spits out a _‘None of your business’._ The Hufflepuff ignores him. “But he’s eating with the team today, so I’m eating here.”

Baekhyun hums, pouring himself juice. “Secret Quidditch meeting?”

“Something of the sort.”

“If you’re so curious, why don’t you ask _your_ boyfriend?” Sehun places the strange device-cube down. “I’m sure he’d let you know all of his drills if you asked nicely.”

Baekhyun huffs. “I don’t need to know. I know you’re a Slytherin, but we don’t need to cheat to win.”

Besides, he thinks, he already knows the Hufflepuff team’s secret drills. The memory sends a shiver down his spine.

Sehun gives him a dramatic eye roll. “Take your honor and shove it up your ass, please.”

“I don’t have your practice. Also, even Park wouldn’t go around snitching on his team like that.”

There’s a pause. Sehun has both his eyebrows raised to his hairline and Kyungsoo almost drops his fork on his book. Even Jongdae turns away from the girl to look at him. Baekhyun blinks, looking between the three of them.

“What?” He asks, getting a spoon to take a look at his reflection, in case he has sauce on his face or something.

Jongdae is the one to reply, a smirk forming on his lips. “You just said ‘Park’.”

“Yeah, and?”

“Sehun said _‘your boyfriend’_ , and you instantly assumed we were talking about Chanyeol.” Kyungsoo supplies, matter of factly. If he didn’t know any better, he’d think the Hufflepuff was making fun of him.

Baekhyun feels his face heat up. “Well, aren’t you always? I’m just tired of playing your little delusional games.” He blabbers, trying to look suave. That’s what he gets for sitting with Slytherins. His eyes run across the table, looking for a distraction. “Sehun, pass me the chicken.”

“U-uh,” The Slytherin pulls the plate closer to himself when Baekhyun reaches for it. “No escaping this one. We’re onto you.”

“If by that you mean you’re on my nerves,” He huffs. “Then yes, you are.”

“Don’t play dumb with us, Byun,” Jongdae scoots closer, completely giving up on the girl. She was probably not that interested, anyway. “You think we don’t know that the two of you were canoodling in the woods?”

“Excuse me?”

“Your date last week,” He says, and the Gryffindor raises an eyebrow at him. “Yeah, we know you ended up all cozy after sunset.”

He brings his glass closer to his face protectively. “We weren’t _canoodling_ ,” He mumbles. “We just fell asleep.”

“What, you already skipped to that phase?” Sehun makes a face. “Boo, you’re boring.”

“First of all, shut up.” He has to hold down his hand from flipping his cousin off. He turns his head to Jongdae. “Second of all, who even told you about that?”

Jongdae looks at Sehun, Sehun looks at Kyungsoo, and Kyungsoo looks sheepishly. Baekhyun rolls his eyes. It’s just his luck that his cousin is dating the best friend of his arch nemesis.

“Chanyeol might have mentioned it.” He shrugs and adjusts his glasses to hide his blush.  

That doesn’t make Baekhyun curious. “He did?” He asks, not at all caring about what answer he’s going to get. “Did he say anything else?”

Both Slytherins start sneering at him but to the Hufflepuff’s credit, all he gives Baekhyun is a pitying look. He’s not necessarily friends with Kyungsoo, but he’s cute and polite and he makes Jongin happy. He would count Sehun in as well, but if he’s being honest, he doesn’t really care about Sehun that much. The other reason is the younger Hufflepuff tends to mind his own business.

“No, he didn’t,” Kyungsoo says finally. “Just that you’re a good friend.”

Baekhyun leans back from the table, not sure of what to do with himself. It’s not like he was expecting the Hufflepuff to say something bad - he figured Kyungsoo only would shake his head in good nature and change subjects -, not say Chanyeol thinks he’s a _good friend_. They’re not even friends.

Except apparently, he told Park otherwise. He winces at his own thoughts, he’s going to have to stop using that excuse every time someone brings up the Hufflepuff and it makes him feel uneasy. Merlin, he  _really_ doesn’t want to go down that role right now. Why can’t his life be just Quidditch and absolutely nothing else?

Jongdae rests his chin on his hand, watching as Baekhyun tries his best not to have a breakdown in the middle of the Great Hall. “You know,” He says, voice much softer than before. “You really need to sort your shit out.”

Baekhyun glances at Chanyeol across the room. He looks so happy, surrounded by his real friends. He wonders what they’re laughing about. “I’m trying.”

“We know,” Apparently, Kyungsoo doesn’t need to follow his gaze to know what Baekhyun is looking at. “But you should try a little harder.”

The Gryffindor takes a deep breath. All these people telling him what he should do are seriously getting on his nerves.

Thankfully, his sour expression keeps the others from touching the subject again. His appetite is gone, thanks a lot, so he doesn’t do anything other than poke his vegetables around half-heartedly around the plate. A few players from the Slytherin team sit beside them and Jongdae and Sehun start discussing the upcoming game with them. They seem pretty confident, already planning a party and everything. Baekhyun holds down the urge to open his mouth because he’s not so sure about their win himself. Kyungsoo shares a discreet smile with him like he knows what’s he’s thinking and agrees.

A Slytherin boy waves at him from a couple of seats over.

“Hey, Captain Lion!” He says, his voice raised to be heard over the noises of the room. “Don't mess up against Ravenclaw, yeah? I bet three galleons on Gryffindor.”

Maybe it’s just the look some of the players give him, but Baekhyun starts to feel overwhelmed. The air is too hot, too heavy, and there are too many people. He’s not sure why, but he looks for Chanyeol again. When he finds him, their eyes meet. It takes a couple of moments until Chanyeol blinks, sending him a small nod before turning his attention back to a Hufflepuff girl Baekhyun can’t name. His hand moves instinctively to loosen the knot on his tie, but the one inside of his throat doesn’t go away. He needs to leave, right now.   

Jongdae asks him if he’s okay once he gets up, to which Baekhyun barely nods before walking towards the door. And he _is_ fine, truly. All he needs is some fresh air. The type you get when you’re standing in a very high place. At a high speed. Mounted on a broom.

He could get detention for flying unauthorized this late at night, but he can’t bring himself to care. He’s done this countless times, one more isn’t going to hurt. It’s a Wednesday, anyway, meaning the last shift for the House prefects is from Hufflepuff. All Baekhyun needs to do is bat his eyelashes at them and they’ll let him go. Slytherin and Ravenclaw wouldn’t be so forgiving.  

Sneaking out of the castle is the least of his problems, he had mastered that skill years ago (mostly to practice, but sometimes to go to a secret party in Hogsmeade).  He keeps close to the walls, making use of the shadows and corners as he moves quietly through the corridors. Most of the inhabitants of the castle are either in the Great Hall or their own common rooms, save for one or two roaming about. Baekhyun doesn’t worry about those, keeping watch for any teachers or Filch’s nasty cat. He’s close to the secret passage, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry.  

On the left wing of the ground floor, hidden behind a medieval armor between a painting of a family of ghosts and a landscape of a lake, there’s a crack in the wall. It’s barely visible to the eye, one having to pass through it multiple times to notice it. Baekhyun glances around to make sure he’s alone and squeezes through. The cool air of the night greets him as soon as he steps on the grass outside and he takes what seems to be the first breath on a really long day.

His broomstick isn't far, he always keeps it hidden by a concealing spell to one of the trees just by the path to the Dark Lake. It’s too dark to see anything, but Baekhyun doesn't need light to know where he's going. He's careful not to trip on anything and keeps his hand inside his pocket and secured around his wand, just in case.

The feeling of his entire chest closing on itself gets stronger the closer his hand reaches for the Siberian Arrow. It's not the broom he uses on games - his trusted Firebolt Supreme being locked up with the rest of the Gryffindor equipment. It's the broom his family had made for him before he was even born, the Byun family embedded on the handle. It's old and not as fast as it used to be, but it feels familiar under his touch and works with him as if they're one. He doesn't have to think when he mounts it and his feet leave the ground.

Baekhyun flies low not to attract too much attention. He needs to put a few dozens of meters between himself and the castle before flying freely. He has a couple of routes he takes whenever he's out like this, routes that he knows are the safest this way. He considers flying into the Forbidden Forest, to the clearing he uses to practice sometimes, but the mere thought of catching Quaffles leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. He sticks to the edge of the lake and thanks to the protection of his own disillusionment charm, he's nothing more than a gush of wind above the water.

No matter how much he busies himself with books and scrolls and practice, his mind always ends up straying back to Chanyeol.

Which is annoying, to say the least, because this is graduation year, he has N.E.W.T.s and Quidditch and endless piles of homework and the Hufflepuff should be at the very bottom end of the pit of his worries. He feels guilt and shame and a messy, messy bundle of some other things he doesn’t even want to begin to untangle. It's as if he's being betrayed by his own mind.

He's far enough now to gain height and speed but the small splatters of water on his face help him relax. There's a lot of wind and he feels the cold on his fingers and at the tip of his ears. For someone who is not used to flying this fast this late, it would be highly uncomfortable and probably a sign to stop, Madam Hooch would say one would surely fall to their death, but not Baekhyun. He's not scared of the risks of flying, he's enticed by them. The sharp tingles of pain are almost relieving by the distraction they provide. He lets his mind focus on the feelings, the sounds around him and the blur of the forest as he dashes through its edge.

He's not sure how much time has passed by the time he closes in the owlery. He's been there a couple of times past curfew, the tower being as good of a place as any to rest before sneaking back into the castle, and the owls never seem to mind him - most of them being out hunting at this hour. It's pleasant during the summer and unbearable during the winter, but Baekhyun still thinks it holds some charm. That and if you manage to get over the smell and bird feces.

The Siberian Arrow isn't perfect for sharp turns so he slows down as he circles the tower towards the top until he finds a window wide enough for him to glide through. Some owls hoot at him, blinking their huge eyes at the intruder. He lands his feet on the ground and takes a couple of steps to look around for his own owl, but no luck. She's probably deep into the forest chasing down hopeless rodents. The thought of it brings a smile to his face.

“Baekhyun?”

The voice is quiet but it still echoes through the round room. It’s him, of course, it’s him. Fate seems to always find new ways to be cruel.

Chanyeol is sitting with his legs crossed near one of the large windows at the floor above his. He’s not wearing his uniform but a black hoodie that looks about two sizes too big for his body. Baekhyun moves despite himself, towards the stairs that round the construction. He’s too tired to question this now, too tired to care. If anything, at least he has a chance to tell Park about his meeting with the headmaster. One less problem for him to worry about. He reaches the Hufflepuff and doesn’t say anything as he places his broom next to Chanyeol’s. They don’t look like they belong next to each other, the blond’s second-hand Cleansweep looking like a frail twig next to his own, it’s almost comical. Baekhyun knows that’s not true, he can tell how well kept and groomed it is and he’s witnessed its capacity first hand. Appearances can be misleading.

Chanyeol waits until the Gryffindor sits down next to him. “I thought you rode a Firebolt.” He says, eyes focused on the broomsticks next to the wall. Baekhyun wonders if he was thinking the same thing.

“I do,” He brings his knees close to his chest to rest his chin on them. “This was given to me by my parents when I was born.”

The Hufflepuff hums. “It’s beautiful. I heard they can be pretty fast.”

“They are, but they can be tricky if you work on a limited space. They’re better suited for Seekers.”

“Yeah,” Chanyeol turns to him. Lately, Baekhyun isn’t so sure he can tell what he’s thinking. “That’s why your father gave you a world-class broom when you made the team, right?”

Baekhyun winces. “Right.”

Neither of them speaks after that. He knows how expensive some brooms can be, he knows how expensive his two are, but he doesn’t allow himself to feel bad for it. To be fair, he’s not quite so sure Chanyeol said that with an ill intention. It doesn’t sound like something he would do.

But how would he know, right?

The air is much colder up there, but the view ahead of them is beautiful. They’re facing the castle, the reflection of the stars on the lake sparkling around it. After six years is kind of easy to forget how breathtaking the school is. Baekhyun feels the same warmth looking at it now that he did when he first saw it as a student. He was so excited he almost crushed Jongdae’s chubby hands when they were riding the boat. He wanted to learn, to play and to make loads of friends - things that he doesn’t look forward to, these days. He wonders what his eleven-year-old self would think of him now.

“Remember back in our fourth year, we got paired up for a Charms project?” Chanyeol says suddenly, bringing Baekhyun’s head back to the present. He nods in acknowledgment. “I was really happy, you know? I don't think you even knew who I was.”

Baekhyun has a bad feeling of where this story is going, so he hugs his knees closer.

“You were this prodigy kid, I thought you were so cool,” Chanyeol breathes out a small laugh. “When we got sorted together I think to myself, this is it, I can finally hang out with the Quidditch legend.” There's a pause. “I'm not gonna lie, at first I was a bit reluctant because you're a pureblood and all your friends are purebloods and I thought you could be one of _those_ people.”

He can hear Chanyeol shifting in place. He can't tell if he's nervous or if he's just trying to find a more comfortable position. Baekhyun focuses on the low sounds of the owls, instead.

“But you weren't. You were so nice and funny and not at all as scary as you looked.” He doesn't need to turn around to know the Hufflepuff is smiling. “You'd even sit next to me sometimes during dinner. I thought we were friends. You talked so much about Quidditch I wanted to give it a try, so I went to the try-outs, just to see if I could.” Baekhyun closes his eyes, the wind making his fringe tickle his face. “When they told me I got in I was so happy, remember? I ran all the way to Gryffindor tower to tell you.”

He remembers how excited Chanyeol looked, hair all messed up and face flushed from running, the biggest smile he had ever seen. He also remembers how the news took him completely by surprise. “I had no idea,” Baekhyun admits quietly.

“Well, it was supposed to be a surprise. I didn't want you to feel bad for me if I didn't get it.” His voice sounds light-hearted, but something keeps it back. “You looked like you were happy for me.”

“I was.” It’s the truth, at the time, he really was. Chanyeol had a smile that made it hard not to like him.

“I thought we would only get closer, but that didn't happen. The more we played together the less we talked.” The Hufflepuff sighs. “You stopped coming to my table and answering my owls. I figured you were just too busy with homework and Quidditch and stuff, I was busy too. I guessed that if I gave you some time you'd come around eventually.”

Baekhyun doesn’t say anything. He wouldn't know what to say even if he wanted to. From the very corner of his peripheral, he can see Chanyeol is staring right at him. For a while, all they hear is the wind.

“I'm still waiting, by the way.”

“I'm-.” Baekhyun takes a deep breath and digs the heels of his hands over his eyes. “Back all those years ago, I'm sorry. I tend to make the game a priority and sometimes I just don't know what happens and-.”

He's interrupted by a loud sigh. “What are you _doing_ , Baekhyun?”

He turns to Chanyeol only to find him looking tired. He's not so sure what the other means. “Apologizing?”

“No, you don't need to apologize to me. I get it.” He gestures vaguely around, trying to convey his own frustration. “I mean with me, Hagrid and the snakes. You clearly don't care enough, so why bother?”

“I-, uhm,” Baekhyun swallows. He really can't keep getting caught by surprise like this. “I'm just helping.”

Chanyeol’s eyes soften for a split second, but he's still frowning. “You're really not,” He says very softly, barely a whisper above the wind. “I know how much being captain means to you, and truthfully, I'm not mad. I just don't understand why you're doing this.”

“That's exactly _why._ ” He says, and it feels like it's more than a breath he's releasing.

“What do you mean?”

Baekhyun wavers. It’s likely that he brought this on himself, but actually saying it out loud is a lot harder than it looks. “I’m not,” He takes a deep breath. He wants to turn around and face anything but Chanyeol, but he doesn’t. If he’s doing this then might as well do it right. “I’m not the captain anymore.”

The Hufflepuff blinks. “What?” He says after a couple of seconds, after realizing that Baekhyun isn’t joking. “What are you talking about?”

“McGonagall revoked it. She said I'm not as committed to my studies as I should be.” He shrugs weakly. “My first N.E.W.T. results were horrible, and she thinks that being the team captain is getting in the way of the grades I need to become an auror.”

“I don’t understand,” Chanyeol frowns. “What about Hagrid? What about your team?”

“It still barely makes sense to me, if I’m honest,” He lets out a weak laugh. “She wants me to show responsibility and commitment to something other than my team, I guess. Something more important.” The words feel bitter in his mouth, but he swallows it down anyway. “Made Wang captain for now, but I can still get it back. But if I don’t do better at next exams, she’s cutting me off the team.”

Chanyeol looks like he was expecting anything but this. “I didn’t know.” He murmurs, more to himself than Baekhyun.

“No one does,” Baekhyun admits. “That is if you don’t count the rest of the team.”

“Not even Jongdae? Sehun?”

The Gryffindor shakes his head. “No, not even them. I haven’t told anyone, actually. McGonagall told the team, I wasn’t there when it happened.”

“But you told me?” Chanyeol’s eyes widen slightly. “Why?”

Baekhyun thinks about it, but truth is, not even he can think of an answer. “Why not?” He says finally. The Hufflepuff is still silent, studying his face. “Just promise you won't use this to win against us when we play next year.”

“What? No, I’m-. I wouldn’t,” He stutters, fumbling with his fingers. “You can trust me.”

 _That’s still up for debate_ , Baekhyun thinks, but at least it’s progress.

Chanyeol asks him more about his deal with the headmaster, about the N.E.W.T.s, his grades, his studying system, everything. He’s surprised to find that, not only is he willing to talk about all of it, but also how easy he does it. It’s like trying to hold water by pressing your palm against a faucet - it’s fine until you move it. The slightest change will set the thin jets loose until you have no choice but to remove your hand and watch it run down. He had no idea how badly he needed to have someone he could be honest with, someone that understood the stakes of playing for the cup and someone that wasn’t on his team and make him feel even worse. His chest feels less constricted and Baekhyun thinks that maybe he can even get a good night of sleep after this.

“Jongdae is helping with most of the subjects,” He explains, leaning with his hands behind his back. “But it’s getting hard to find time for us to actually sit down together.”

“What if…” Chanyeol cocks his head to the side. “What if I help you?”

Baekhyun raises an eyebrow. “Help me?”

“Yeah, with potions.” He shrugs. “When we get together to watch Gertrude and Fergus, to save time. I could tutor you.” He pauses, considering something else. “My Arithmancy skills aren’t the best, but I can help with those, too.”

“No offense, Park, but you don’t even take Advanced Potions.” He points out with a nod. “How are supposed to help me with things you’re not even learning?”

Chanyeol smiles at him, at it looks smug. “Just because I don’t need that class, doesn’t mean I’m not good at it.” He says. “I grew up with Yoora, remember?”

Oh, well. That’s enough explanation for him.

It’s not a bad plan - in fact, it’s almost perfect. Most of the time they spend with the snakes consists of observing and taking notes, they could very easily read essays and go through homework together, even brew a potion or two depending on the level of difficulty. Potions is one of the subjects Baekhyun has the least affinity with, always has been, and Jongdae had more than enough of his share of melted cauldrons at his expense. This would solve a lot of problems at once. It’s too good to be true.

“Why?” He asks before he can stop himself.

“What do you mean?”

He also has N.E.W.Ts, he also has Quidditch. He’s just as busy as Baekhyun is, it doesn’t make sense. “Why would you help me?”

Chanyeol stares him for a long time before smiling. “Because, despite what you keep telling yourself, I’m still your friend.”

Baekhyun turns away from him, biting his lower lip. There’s still a lot he doesn’t understand, can’t explain - especially when it comes to the Hufflepuff - but somehow Chanyeol’s smile always seems to make things a little less messy.

It’s a start, he guesses.

 

✧･ﾟ:*✧･*✧･ﾟ:* ･✧

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *walks away like nothing is wrong*
> 
> thank you for reading <3 until next time!!!
> 
> (btw, i may or may not be working on another chanbaek au. it may or may not be college au. it may or may not be nasty. stay tuned)
> 
> you can find me on [ tumblr ](https://catladyjaebum.tumblr.com/) and [ twitter ](https://twitter.com/ohimemomo) ♡


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello my loves how have you been  
> before we start i just want to say,,, writing quidditch is not as fun as it sounds,,,,

 

✧･ﾟ:*✧･*✧･ﾟ:* ･✧

  
  


“ _ Ladies and gentlemen, hold on to your seats!  _ ” The cheers are loud, but the commentator’s voice still echoes louder. “ _ Min has hold of the Quaffle, and he’s unstoppable! He flies like a dragon! It looks Hufflepuff’s defense is up for a hard time today!” _

The players flash by the bleachers and the gush of air that rushes with their speed makes Baekhyun’s hair fly. He keeps his eyes close to the Quaffle, watching as the Slytherin’s pass it back and forth in short range, followed closely by the opposite team’s beaters. It’s a tight match so far, thirty-seven minutes into the game, Slytherin leading by only ten points and no sign of the Golden Snitch.

Well, twenty now. 

“ _ Aaaaaaaaaaaand there you go! Another score for Slytherin by our ace Min Yoongi!  _ ” The commentator screams. “ _ Truly, we have the best team! The pride of our School! And I don’t say this because I happen to be part of this magnificent house, but because it’s true! _ ” 

Baekhyun snorts, clapping along to the excited cheering of Slytherins around him. Usually, he’d sit with his own team at the Gryffindor section of the bleachers, but he let Jongdae and Sehun drag him with them to the green and silver crowd. Not that he minds, games are always more fun when you’re surrounded by the playing house.

Slytherin is playing much more aggressively than they did on the friendly matches. The Chasers are not shying away from getting physical and the beaters are being ruthless. They almost got Chanyeol twenty-three times, he’s keeping count. By the looks of it, their captain wants that cup just as badly as Baekhyun does. The Badgers aren’t making it easy either, their own pair of beaters causing serious damage to Slytherin’s formations and Chanyeol himself stealing the Quaffle back right from under their noses. Jongin flashes through the pitch like a hawk, never losing sight of the other team’s Seeker. Madam Hooch even had to stop a fight when Kim Taehyung tried to throw his bat at a Slytherin student that was talking shit from the bleachers.

So far, it’s a great match.

A Bludger sent by Lee Hoseok throws the Slytherin carrying the Quaffle off balance and she loses grip on it, giving Chanyeol the perfect opening to catch it and round the field. He zigzags through the other players, using the Hufflepuff team captain as back-up. Baekhyun looks for the Slytherin Keeper and waits for the inevitable.

_ “Oh, Park Chanyeol scores again for Hufflepuff.”  _ Says the kid, Donghyuk something, much less enthusiastically this time. “  _ But I guess it’s okay, we can allow some pity points for them.”  _ The Hufflepuff crowd boos and Baekhyun swear he hears the head of Gryffindor house scolding him from the side.  _ “I mean, way to go Hufflepuff! Well played! Slytherin still has the lead, though!”  _

Matches like these are unpredictable, so Baekhyun guesses that the advantage won’t last long. Slytherin has a good team this year, great even, but so does Hufflepuff. Their beaters are talented and Jongin is the fastest Seeker Baekhyun has ever seen. And they have Chanyeol. There’s no way of knowing how this game will end.

He watches as Sooyoung keeps a tight grip on the Quaffle and flies with fire in her eyes. He knows first hand how it feels to be on the receiving end, her throws usually strong and calculated. The Hufflepuff Keeper is a fifth-year boy and honestly, Baekhyun doesn't think the kid is as good as  _ he  _ is, but he still finds himself hoping that he can block it. Sooyoung dives towards the right side of the sand area and goes for a hip throw, only Baekhyun knows is a bluff. She ends up twirling at the last second and launching it from below. It's fast and it's dangerous and the Slytherin crowd is going wild around him, screaming encouragements and prayers, but she misses. It's a miracle, but the Hufflepuff kid blocked it. His housemates celebrate and Chanyeol flies over to give him a high-five. Given his surroundings, Baekhyun tries not to smile too wide.

With the gap in the lead shortening and the Sun hitting hard on Slytherins side, Baekhyun understands when their captain calls for a time-out. Sooyoung wants to cut the Hufflepuff's flow, possibly threaten her team. The players gather on opposite sides of the field, reaching for towels and water bottles. From where he's standing, Baekhyun can see Chanyeol clearly. The blond is still on his broom, using a wristband to wipe off the hair off his forehead. He’s close enough that Baekhyun can see him frown, eyes running through the rows of students cheering. As if he’s looking for someone he can’t find.

Madam Hooch blows the whistle and the game is back on. 

“ _ What's this?! It looks like Kim spotted the Golden Snitch!”  _ The commentator's voice echoes after some time. Baekhyun looks for Jongin in the field.  _ “And by Kim, I mean Slytherin Kim, not Hufflepuff Kim! It's a real inconvenience that all players have the same last name…”  _ The audience laughs. He's not wrong. “ _ But yes, both Seekers have eyes on the Golden Snitch! This match finally got interesting!” _

Jongin and the Slytherin Seeker are flying fast and shoulder to shoulder. The game is tied now, so in the end, the winner will come from whoever catches the Snitch first. The girl playing for Slytherin is good, but Baekhyun finds himself rooting that Jongin can be faster.

For no particular reason. 

“Jongin is closing in!” Sehun yells from his right, leaning against the edge and waving his foam finger angrily. “Nakamoto, knock him down!” 

The Slytherin beater hears him and sends a Bludger that flies right by Jongin’s left ear. He spins a few times to regain balance, but he doesn’t take his eyes from the snitch. The crowd cheers. 

“Aren’t you supposed to root for your boyfriend?” Baekhyun asks, raising his voice so he can be heard over the loud noise.  

Sehun shakes his head. “There’s no love in Quidditch, only winning.” 

Baekhyun rolls his eyes and focuses back on the Quaffle.

They’re past the one hour mark now, the golden snitch suddenly disappearing after almost being caught ended up stretching the game longer than anticipated. The cheering has lost some significant strength, the students choosing to save their energy for the end of the match. Hufflepuff has taken the lead by 50 points, and the players are starting to feel the exhaustion. Baekhyun studies the attack formations, the throws and how the Chasers finish their moves, keeping mental notes on things his own team might find useful. And Chanyeol.

He can’t help it, he’s always watching Chanyeol. It’s still hypnotizing. He flies around the field like he was born to do it, passing through the other players like it’s nothing. He doesn’t even think as he dives headfirst towards the goal area, scoring yet another point. His performance is so flawlessly executed, Baekhyun ends up clapping along without even noticing. The Hufflepuff does a victory lap around the pitch, waving at his housemates that are cheering loudly. He searches around the bleachers again until his eyes finally meet Baekhyun’s. He smiles, and it’s a smile Baekhyun just  _ knows  _ it’s meant for him. 

“Damn it, Byun!” Jongdae yells, a scowl on his face. “Are you seriously rooting for Hufflepuff right now?!”

Baekhyun blinks, breaking eye contact with the Chaser to stare at his friend. “What? No, of course not.” 

When he looks back at the field, Chanyeol is already gone. He doesn't look at Baekhyun again until the match is over after Jongin finally corners the Golden Snitch and wins the game for Hufflepuff. Baekhyun tries not to clap too much, given the amount of angry Slytherins surrounding him, but he can't shake off the feeling of pride that floods his chest.

Deep inside he's glad they won. It means he's one step closer from playing against Hufflepuff himself.

  
  


✧･ﾟ:*✧･*✧･ﾟ:* ･✧

  
  


A lot of things happen between Hufflepuff's victory against the Snakes and Gryffindor's first official game of the school year. The three weeks pass in the span of a blink.

The most noticeable occurrence, and probably most important, is how much Fergus and Gertrude have grown. It's concerning, really.

Gertrude has grown the most, almost the length of Chanyeol’s legs the last time they tried to measure her (and that's saying a lot, given that Chanyeol is huge). Fergus is around four or five inches smaller than she is, and he's definitely less heavy. Not that Baekhyun would know, he still doesn't dare to go near the female. Fergus has warmed up to him enough to let himself be held, but that was as far as their relationship went. He's not complaining, though. The study dates with Chanyeol surely helped him bond with the animals,  if only just a little. If Baekhyun is being honest, he even kind of likes them, now. Their scales have changed too, transitioning from that Merlin-awful brown to a lighter, almost golden shade. Chanyeol's guess is that they’ll change their hue again by the end of the year, and the Gryffindor thinks he might be right.

The atmosphere around the castle has also changed, Halloween just around the corner. There are carved pumpkins, pleasant smelling reefs and bats flying all around. Baekhyun isn’t too keen on joining the spooky mood, but he thinks it’s a nice change nonetheless.

Chanyeol, on the other hand, seems ecstatic. He’s always sneaking candies under his robes after dinner, scaring first-years with ghost stories and wearing enchanted skeleton sweaters. The first one was fun and the second one was cute but by the fifth one, Baekhyun started to get a little curious. Each day he’d meet Chanyeol and the blond would be sporting the black knitted sweater and a different looking skeleton doing an even weirder dance. 

“Okay, what’s up with all the sweaters?” He asks after the Hufflepuff sits across from him at the Gryffindor table with an Irish-dancer-skeleton. Chanyeol beams.

“You like it? I got it this morning.”

Baekhyun watches as the skeleton does a little spin and takes a bow. “It’s charming.” He says, placing his quill down. “How many of those do you have?”

“Just one, why?” He takes a few scrolls from his bag and hands them to Baekhyun.

Well. That makes no sense. “I’ve seen you with  _ at least  _ ten different dances.”

“The sweater is just one,” The Hufflepuff smiles, resting his chin on his hands. “I only change the skellies.”

Baekhyun raises an eyebrow. “ _ Skellies _ ? Seriously?”

“Hey, don’t hate the name!” He rolls his eyes but ends up smiling anyway. “Admit it, you think it’s cute.”

“Shut up.”  He snorts. “What do you mean you change them?”

Chanyeol looks down at the sweater. “My grandma made me this sweater for Halloween. And the dancing, it’s a charm.”

“I thought your family were Muggles?”

“They are,” He nods. “She just made the one skeleton, non-magical style. I make it so it dances something different every day.”

The thought of it makes the Gryffindor smile. “So she makes soup  _ and  _ sweaters?”

“What can I say,” His lip curls on a proud side grin. “Talent runs in the family.”

At least Baekhyun has the decency to try to hold down his laughter. “Seriously,  _ shut up  _ .” He says, with absolutely no bite to it, and opens his textbook. “Come on, we have an Alihotsy Draught to brew.” 

Even with the joking still in the air, both of them fall into a focused state quite easily. That particular brew was amongst the list of possible potions Professor Slughorn would ask the students to produce on the spot for their next N.E.W.T.s, and Baekhyun wanted no surprises. Miss Park had gracefully allowed them to use her office to practice during weekends but he’d feel better if he was familiar with it before actually trying and, you know, blowing up the entire west wing of the castle. Chanyeol had gathered notes and tips from his sister, some ingredients from the head of Hufflepuff and Baekhyun had made trips to the library and stolen some powdered shells from the potions classroom. They were ready to go.

Truth be told, he wasn’t sure what he was expecting when he first agreed to have Chanyeol as a study partner, but it was definitely not this.

For starters, they actually  _ do  _ study. Yeah, surprised everybody.

Chanyeol can be extremely focused when he wants to, and also very determined. He’s always questioning, testing, trying out new alternatives. He’s possibly a better tutor than Jongdae, not that he’d ever tell him that. If Baekhyun didn’t know any better, he’d say the blond should be in Ravenclaw. Sometimes he thinks Chanyeol comes to their dates even more prepared than he is.

Wait, not dates. Meetings. Study  _ meetings _ . Merlin.

Baekhyun shakes his head after he notices he’s read the same sentence three times in a roll and places the book down. The Great Hall has emptied significantly since they started and that should mean they’ve been studying for long enough. The Gryffindor rubs his eyes, pressing so hard his vision becomes spotty. That’s what this is. He’s just tired.

Chanyeol peeks at him from behind his textbook. 

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Baekhyun sighs, letting his arms fall to his sides. “Just tired. Think we can call it a day?”

“Sure.” Chanyeol claps his book shut. “That’s probably for the best, I’m starving.” He adds, stretching his arms and neck.

“Me too.” Baekhyun hums while placing his belongings back on his bag. The Hufflepuff does the same. “I could eat my own body-weight right now.”

“That’s not a lot of weight.”

He rolls his eyes. “Hilarious, Park. Did you had that one thought out?”

“You bet,” The blond giggles. He has adjusts the strap on his shoulder as he waits for Baekhyun to stand up as well. “Wanna go get some butterbeer?” 

Even though he isn’t particularly paying attention Baekhyun still catches something different about Chanyeol’s tone. He hesitates. Does he? It’s just hanging out, not at all different from what they had been doing all morning. He’s hungry, Park is his friend, it’s convenient. The weather is getting colder by the day and the wind has been quite strong these past week. The image of his shoulders brushing against Chanyeol’s while they try to keep warm by staying close runs through his head. He  _ does  _ want to. The Hufflepuff is still looking at him expectantly.

“I have to meet Wang for practice,” He says instead. “Maybe next time?”

“Oh,” The blond looks visibly disappointed, but he hides it well. Baekhyun hopes his smile doesn’t look as fake as it feels. “Yeah, sure. Next time.” 

Chanyeol waves at him before turning around and walking away. He watches as he greets some of his Hufflepuff classmates and joins their group. Baekhyun takes a deep, long breath.

No, he doesn’t know why he did it either.

It’s not like it’s a lie. Their first match is only a week away and the entire Gryffindor team is on edge, sneaking in practices whenever they can. Baekhyun himself has been skipping sleep to do some training with Jackson since that’s the only time they can actually meet. They’re excited, of course, but they’re also all sharing the same sense of nervousness. They want to win - they  _ have  _ to win. Still, he didn’t have to practice today. Jackson specifically ordered all players to take the day off and rest, recharge energies, shit like that, and Baekhyun had every intention of obeying.

He grabs his textbook from the table and heads out of the Great Hall, figuring he’s better off not opening the door to that part of his brain that insisted on making the weirdest decisions. Seriously.

If not practice, then the least Baekhyun can do is study some more on his own. There are two rolls of parchment he has to write and hand in two weeks for DATDA and it’s never too late to start, so he sets to his common room. He’d get there a lot faster if the stairs would just stop spinning around before he could hop on another, though. He ends up saying fuck it and getting off at the fourth floor to look for some calmer, less stubborn stairs.  

As he’s walking through the deserted hallway, the only sound being of his footsteps, Baekhyun thinks of the snakes. He  _ could  _ go see them, take his materials with him and get started on the essay with Fang sleeping by his feet. He wouldn’t dare to touch them, of course, but it would be a good plan. Two in one, that sort of thing. Except he shoots that idea out of the window almost immediately, the possibility of running into Park while he’s there making the whole notion a lot less attractive.

Baekhyun sighs.

He’s still worried about their situation. It has come to the point where the animals can barely move without sliding over each other, and they’re getting skittish. They need a solution. They need a place big enough to house the snakes, somewhere safe that the animals would enjoy and that would make it possible for them to keep studying them. What they need is a way to have a piece of the rainforest the snakes came from, now _ that  _ would surely solve a lot of problems. It’s useless. Baekhyun turns around to go back the way he came from, passing through the odd-looking door with snake-shaped handles.

He stops dead in his tracks. That door wasn’t there a minute ago.

It’s a huge door. Tall, dark-red wood that goes at least twice Baekhyun’s height. He takes a couple of tentative steps towards it and runs his finger through the handle. He can’t be sure just by touching it, but it looks like the snakes are made of solid gold. His eyes follow the way the small golden ornaments go through the entire expense of the door and stops at the ground. There’s light peeking from the thin gap so whatever’s inside is _ bright _ . He can hear sounds coming from the other side, too, but it can’t be what he thinks it is. Baekhyun slowly places his head against the door, ear glued to the wood. There are birds chirping.

What the fuck.

He’s sure he has never seen this door, and neither has anyone otherwise he’d have heard about it. Excitement builds at the bottom of his stomach. Some people might have internal safety alerts, preservation instincts, and whatnots. Gryffindors don’t. Baekhyun tightens his grip around his wand (just in case) and pulls the door open.

The room is so bright he has to shield his eyes to adjust, wand raised ahead of him. He’s enveloped immediately by an intense warmth and a stuffy, humid air. He can smell wood, grass,  _ rain _ . He can smell flowers and plants and about a million things he can’t even name. The chirping of birds are all around him now, as is the sound of the wind dancing around tree branches and what it seems like a river nearby. Baekhyun has a knot forming on his throat from excitement (or fear. Or both) that he can’t contain anymore, so he opens his eyes.

He’s not looking into a room.

He’s looking into a jungle.

  
  


✧･ﾟ:*✧･*✧･ﾟ:* ･✧

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh my oh my
> 
> thank u for reading i'll see u next time ♡♡
> 
>  
> 
> ps. you can totally follow me on [ twitter ](https://twitter.com/ohimemomo) and we can be friends ♡


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, hello
> 
> notice how i keep changing how many chapters this is gonna have,,,, someone help,,

✧･ﾟ:*✧･*✧･ﾟ:* ･✧

  


A number of things run through Baekhyun’s mind as he steps further into the room.

It’s hot, so hot he immediately feels trapped inside of his robes and the urge to fan himself. He hears a soft click behind him and when he turns to check all he sees is a huge door standing on nothing, even more jungle behind it. He wonders how big this place is, or if he’s still inside the castle at all or he was somehow teletransported into another place. He wonders if there’s anyone else in here, if he’s in danger, if maybe he should turn around and get the hell out.

But mostly, all he can think is _what the fuck_.

The trees are tall and close together and Baekhyun is almost certain you wouldn’t find plants like these anywhere in the UK. It’s so much more colorful than the Forbidden Forest, certainly louder and crowded. It doesn’t feel threatening, it feels exciting. It feels _alive_ . He discards his robes by his feet, the heat becoming too much to bear and even drips of sweat falling down his temples. He kind of feels the urge to take off his shoes too, the idea of feeling the soft looking grass between his toes sounding not that bad but then again, he also really doesn't want to step on something sharp and end up bleeding out in, well, wherever _this_ is.

The door seems to be located at the center of a circular clearing, the agglomeration of trees at a safe few meters from where he’s standing. He can see the river now, crystal clear water running alongside the edge of the forest to Baekhyun’s left and disappearing into the trees ahead. He could tell something was off from the second he stepped in, but up until now he couldn't pinpoint _what,_ but once he sees it it's hard to miss.

There is no sky.

Well, there's a ceiling and there are clouds, but it's obvious now that Baekhyun is not outdoors. Even if he can feel the soft brush of the heat on his skin, there is no Sun, no nothing. He can't tell how just yet, but he's certain it’s still inside of Hogwarts. He tries to search his brain for any explanation, line in a book, anything that would help him make sense of this room but he comes up with nothing. The sounds of small animals get louder as he steps forward and Baekhyun starts to consider what to do next.

Deep in his gut, he _knows_ this is no coincidence. He knows what he wants to do, he wants to step deep into the forest, see how far it goes, see what creatures live here, see if anything is familiar. Baekhyun extends his wand-wielding hand forward.

“ _Homenum Revelio._ ” He says to trees. Nothing happens.

Of course, that wouldn't rule out potentially dangerous animals lurking around, but at least he doesn't have to worry about other wizards. Still, he would feel a lot safer if he had someone to watch his back. Someone who had a good dueling background. Someone who was good with magical creatures. Someone he could trust.

Well.

Only, something tells Baekhyun that if he leaves now he won't be able to come back. It occurs to him just as his fingers brush against the door handle and he feels a strange chill run through his bones. It's almost as if the room itself is warning him. The Gryffindor frowns, debating his own options as he rubs his hands together, trying to warm them from the sudden cold, his family ring shining brightly against the brightness of the room. And then he remembers.

“Master Baekhyun!” Gilly exclaims excitedly, fanning around the residual smoke of her apparition. Baekhyun smiles.

“Hey, Gilly!” He takes her hand to help her move around the grass. “I’m sorry for calling, but I need a favor.”

The house elf looks around herself, clearly wary of the surroundings. She pretends to ignore it. “Of course, what can I do for you, young master?”

“Could you find a student named Park Chanyeol and bring him here?” He wipes a line of sweat dripping down his temple. “I think he’s in Hogsmeade.”

“I can do that!” Gilly nods enthusiastically. She looks like she still wants to say something, so Baekhyun motions for her to continue. “I'm terribly sorry, but what is master doing in the Come and Go Room?”

Baekhyun blinks. “The what?”

“Come and Go Room,” She repeats, slowly this time. “The other Hogwarts elves talk a lot about it. They told Gilly it's a room you go to hide things.” Her big green eyes keep going around as if she's worried a beast could jump them at any second. “Or to get things you need.”

“Things I need?”

“That's what the elves say. Gilly assumed you knew since you found it.”

Baekhyun frowns even harder. He had never even heard of such a thing, let alone know how to find it. Besides, if this really is the same room Gilly heard about from the other elves, then why is it a jungle? He doesn’t need a jungle. No one needs a jungle. What if he needs something else? What if he needs to pee? Well, of course, he could just _do it,_ considering it was a forest after all, but what if he really needs it? All in all, it's not like it’s a lie since the last Baekhyun went to the boy's room was early in the morning and the sound of the river running truly wasn't helping him much, but one tends to overlook their bladder needs when they're worried they might get eaten or something.

A noise catches their attention before he can even finish his thoughts. From a spot not far from where he and Gilly are standing, something starts to grow from the ground. At first, it looks like any other plant, stretching from the dirt and curling, branches reaching up and around. They stand and watch as it becomes taller and more solid, taking the shape of something very familiar before it's covered by other branches that evolve into walls. Gilly moves to stand next to him, her small hand tightly gripping the fabric of his pants as they wait for it to unravel. Baekhyun sees a door appear in front of him, and he knows even before he opens what lies inside.

“Master Baekhyun,” She pulls on his trousers again, trying to get his attention. “What is that?”

Baekhyun smiles. “That's a toilet.”

Gilly doesn't seem convinced and she doesn't look like she wants to leave him alone in there either but she gives in after Baekhyun insists that he is fine. She disapparates a quarter of a second after, leaving only a little dust behind.

Now, Baekhyun still doesn't understand fully where he is or how it works, but he's guessing the room gives him whatever he needs. It must have its limitations, but so far if it can give him an entire forest there's likely very little it can't do. He was confused at first to the purpose of this room, why he was the one to find it today of all days but now the pieces seemed to be getting together. He needs Chanyeol to be sure. Or at least he thinks so.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”

_Speaking of._

“Master Baekhyun!” Gilly calls. Baekhyun turns around just in time to see Chanyeol begin to hyperventilate, house-elf wrapped around his leg. “Is this the human you asked for?”

“Yes, that’s him.” He smiles, taking a couple of steps towards them.

“Oh, good!” She releases her grip. Not that Chanyeol even notices, currently too busy looking around frantically and gaping his mouth. “If you don’t need anything else, Gilly should be getting back to the manor.”

“No, that’s all.” Baekhyun takes her hand and squeezes it warmly. “Thank you so much, Gilly. Tell everyone I said ‘hey’.”

The elf smiles one last time and snaps her fingers together, disappearing into thin air.

Chanyeol seems to still be freaking out, enough that it takes him a few seconds to notice Baekhyun snapping his fingers under his nose. He’s startled and he blinks a couple of times before he recognizes the Gryffindor. Baekhyun knows he’s trying to form sentences but they don’t seem to be going anywhere.

“Hey, you,” He says, barely containing the grin that’s forming on his face. Chanyeol blabbers some more, holding the side of Baekhyun’s arms for support. “Guess what I found?”

“I’m, I-, where-,” He breathes out, looking from Baekhyun to the jungle around them. “How? Who?”

Baekhyun gives up holding back his smile. “That was my family house-elf, Gilly. She kindly apparated you in here for me.”

“Um, w-. Where,” Chanyeol’s eyes stop by the toilet in the middle of the grass and he somehow looks even more distressed. “Where is _here_?”

It takes him a moment to reply. “I’m not sure. Gilly says it’s called the Come and Go Room.”

The Hufflepuff frowns. “Come and go?”

It takes Baekhyun some effort to finally get Chanyeol to calm down for long enough for him to understand, and then even more effort to calm him down after. He explains how he thinks the room is trying to help them with the snakes, that this is the perfect environment and that it's safe. Chanyeol starts fanning himself halfway through the talk and comments on how he wished he had some more appropriate clothes for this weather. Just before Baekhyun can suggest he took off his sweater, a neatly folded t-shirt appears just under their noses. They share a look before laughing hysterically.

After concluding that yes, the room will provide whatever they need, they start to think of ways to get the snakes here. The biggest concern, of course, is making sure they will be able to enter the room again after they leave. He has a hunch of what can work so he plants Chanyeol in front of the door and tells him to wait while he steps out to check. Chanyeol says he absolutely will not, what if he gets trapped in here forever, please don't leave him alone in here. Baekhyun makes a point to roll his eyes very dramatically before he shoos the Hufflepuff back into the hallway and explains how he might find the room again. Everything falls quiet again after the door closes save from the forest noises. He told Chanyeol to take a walk, give it a few moments and then come back, thinking about what he needs to find. He feels excitement running through his veins.

He’s counted at least four minutes when he hears hustling from the other side of the door and it opens to reveal an exhilarated looking Chanyeol.

“Baek, it worked!” He bounces in place, smiling back at him like there's no tomorrow. “You're a genius!”

Maybe the excitement had gotten the best out of both of them because when Chanyeol steps into his personal space and wraps his arms around him, Baekhyun hugs him back.

  


✧･ﾟ:*✧･*✧･ﾟ:* ･✧

  


The five minutes before a match usually last longer than the five days leading up to it.

Thanks to Professor McGonagall's mercy, Baekhyun is the one walking towards the center of the pitch to shake the hand of the Ravenclaw’s team captain instead of Jackson. For sake of their own team’s appearance (and his own), he can pretend for now to be the one in charge. He'll greet the opposing team, but he can't call orders or time-outs unless Wang asks him to, the headmaster had made herself perfectly clear. It was fortunate enough that they had managed to sell the story of why wasn't Baekhyun attending the four-captains monthly meetings because he “was busy” and “wanted to prepare Jackson for next year”, but having the entire school question them would be too much. That and of course, Baekhyun's parents.

They come to every match and sit alongside the faculty to publicly display their support. Baekhyun is grateful, truly, but over the years their presence ends up being more of a burden than a relief. Jongdae suggested he talked to them, explained that he would feel a lot less stressed without them there but he never did. His parents never wasted an opportunity to show just how proud they were of his Quidditch skills and Baekhyun would never take that away from them. The same reason he had failed to mention his downgrade as team captain whenever he wrote home.

He can't think about that right now. The Ravenclaw captain has a strong grip and he wishes Baekhyun good luck, says that he'll need it. He smiles politely and tells the Chaser he should watch out for loose Bludgers. They turn their backs to each other and make their way back to their groups. Jackson hands him his broom and pats his back as the rest of the Gryffindors get close for their final pep talk. He says a few words, looks at each player and pats Nayeon's shoulder reassuringly until she tells them she's ready. Lucas pulls their chant and waits as they fly off one by one. Jackson’s nod from the sky is all Baekhyun needs before he mounts his Firebolt and guides it towards the goals.

The cheering is almost deafening, the red and gold crowd waving their flags and singing in unison. Baekhyun lets his eyes travel through the bleachers and stops at the teacher's spot, locking eyes with his father. Mr. Byun nods, Gryffindor emblem proudly pinned to his robes and Baekhyun holds his gaze for a few moments before turning back to the center of the pitch where Madam Hooch is screaming out the final rules.

Jackson looks at him one last time. Baekhyun's heart is banging loudly in his ears.

Any second now.

“ _Madam Hooch throws the Quaffle_ ,” Donghyuk's voice echoes. “ _And the match begins!_ ”

The Chasers from both teams turn into blurs as they race for the ball. Ravenclaw's Seeker dives immediately and starts to round the field, Nayeon following him from a distance. The kid's name is Jungkook but he's known as the Golden Seeker, and it's not difficult to know why. Ever since his first game, he has never missed the Snitch. Whether it’s a fifteen-minute match (a record for Ravenclaw) or a stretch of eight hours, he always catches it. Their team captain knows this, Nayeon knows this, Jungkook knows this but most importantly, Baekhyun knows. He knows the only way they can win is by scoring more points and making sure Ravenclaw doesn't. That's his job. If he wants a chance at winning, he needs to stop sixteen goals.

And he will.

It's in Gryffindor’s best interest that this match lasts for as long as they can stretch it. Until they can score enough so the Snitch won't make a difference, the game must go on. Through his peripheral, he sees that both Seekers are gaining altitude and he wants to check if they caught any sign of the Snitch but he can't. Ravenclaw has possession of the Quaffle and their 2-3 formation is headed his way. Baekhyun tightens his thigh-grip on the Firebolt in favor of leaving his hands free and hovers in place. He knows it’s Jackson’s job to disrupt the group but he can't count on that solely, he can't slack off not even for one second. He can hear the sound of the Bludgers as they clash against the bats, so even if he can't necessarily see them he knows they're in action. A Chaser from his own team closes in the opponent's space and does her best to throw them off as the others try to reclaim the ball. They're too close for comfort and Baekhyun can tell where the Ravenclaw will risk a goal before he even does it. It's a hunch, of course, but Baekhyun is rarely wrong. He lunges towards the left goal, arms stretched.

_“What a good block from Gryffindor! Guess the Lions are not sleeping tonight!"_

Baekhyun laps across the goal and throws the Quaffle towards one of his teammates just as she flies bellow Ravenclaw's line of attack. One down, fifteen to go.

The crowd cheers.

He's lost track of time. The Gryffindor Beaters are doing a victory lap around the pitch to celebrate the tenth goal and opening a sixty-point lead against Ravenclaw. Out of the corner of his eye, Baekhyun sees Jungkook take a sharp turn and he wonders if he's seeing the snitch. It's a dick move, but he can't risk the match ending. He signals for a break and Madam Hooch blows the whistle.

His shirt is sticking to his skin and he feels the sweat slide through his forehead, his eyebrows, his neck. He’s breathing loudly and irregularly to make up for all the moving around and the adrenaline. Nayeon flies to where he is and hands him a water bottle with a smile. Baekhyun looks around his team and listens as Jackson shouts out some encouraging words. They all look worn out but they're still optimistic, the recent lead seems to have thrown out Ravenclaw's teamwork. Wang suggests tagging certain players, tiring them out the best they can and waits for his approval. So far, the one causing the most trouble for Baekhyun is a third-year girl who scored three of the four goals he failed to block. Besides some sore muscles, the team's spirits are high and their chances are good. They also haven't had any casualties yet, which is always good. The commentator is making random announcements while the match is paused, sharing gossip and hitting on random students the best he can without professor McGonagall reprimanding him. If Baekhyun wasn't so stressed he'd probably be laughing along with the crowd.

Their five minutes are up and the players start to take off and return to their positions. He takes the opportunity to fly close the Gryffindor bleachers to wave at his housemates. He's not sure if Jongdae and Sehun are there or if they're rooting for him _at all_ , but it would be nice. Their part extends to a few students of other houses too, those who aren’t particularly in the mood to wear someone else’s colors but don’t mind lending some of their cheerings. Baekhyun slows down so he can check something closer and he almost slides off his broom.

There’s Jongin with red and yellow hearts painted on his cheeks. There’s Kyungsoo next to him with a cozy crimson sweater. And there’s Chanyeol, dressed in red and gold from head to toe and waving a _gigantic_ banner over his head like a lunatic.

From this distance, it’s impossible for him to read whatever it is that Park wrote in there and personally, he’s a little glad that this is the case. He shouldn’t be able to see the smile on the Hufflepuff’s face, either, but it’s enough just knowing that it’s there. Thankfully no one is close enough to see him blushing.

He returns to his spot in front of the goals and waits for the whistle to play again.

 

✧･ﾟ:*✧･*✧･ﾟ:* ･✧

 

By the time the Gryffindor team leaves the changing room, it’s already dark. The cold air stings his face and it makes him shudder, taking away the nice feeling of his warm shower. His muscles are still sore and he’s almost sure he hurt his left wrist in some way or another and he should probably go by the infirmary to get it checked out. And he will, first thing in the morning. Right now, he just wants to go back to his common room.

A little after the three-hour mark of start, Jeon Jungkook captured the Golden Snitch, leaving Ravenclaw with a total of two hundred and ten points and ending the match.

Gryffindor had two hundred and thirty.

Baekhyun and the rest of the team have a party to go to.

Even with their victory and the team being one step closer to the Cup, he still feels he could’ve done better. The lead wasn’t broad enough to leave his players comfortable, he didn’t defend as well as he wanted, he was distracted, silly mistakes. Jackson assured him they had an incredible performance, no one on the team had been badly injured and that the goalkeeper himself had done an amazing job. He was feeling optimistic and brushed off Baekhyun’s concerns by telling him to just relax and enjoy the party before jumping head-first into another training drill. The co-captain has a point, he guesses, so that’s where they’re headed.

They’re taking the moving stairs when Baekhyun gets tapped on the shoulder. It’s not uncommon to get greeted by students after a victory, so you can imagine his surprise.

“Kyungsoo,” He all but exclaims. “What are you doing up here?”

The stair starts moving so they both hold on to the handrail. “I had an Astronomy paper I had to hand over.” He explains. “I saw you on my way down and thought I could congratulate you.”

“Oh,” Baekhyun giggles. “Thank you. The team did a great job.”

“So did you.”

They start moving again, towards Gryffindor tower this time. He’s about to bid his farewells to the Hufflepuff when he starts talking again.

“Actually, I’m also here as a favor to Chanyeol. It’s a little odd.”

 _Odd._ A chill runs through his body. “Yes?”

“All he said was, _‘tell Baekhyun I need him to need me’_.” Kyungsoo stops to study his expression. “Does that make any sense to you?”

“Yes,” He feels the excitement building, no matter how hard he tries to contain it. He’s pretty sure he’s smiling. “Yes, it does.”

“Well, in that case,” The Hufflepuff smiles, clearly relaxing. “I should be going back to the Basement.” He moves so he can climb down, around the rest of the team who are standing a few steps down. “I’ll see you around, Baekhyun. You played really well today.”

Once he’s gone, Nayeon comes to his side as the stairs stop and they’re facing the Fat Lady. She asks him what the Hufflepuff wanted but Baekhyun doesn’t answer. Instead, he tells her and the others he’ll come back to the party later, there’s something he needs to do first. The team gives him all sort of weird looks but no one stops him when he takes a turn and heads for a different set of stairs.

Maybe the adrenaline is yet to wear off because Baekhyun doesn’t really know why he’s doing this.

His first instinct is that he _wants_ to see Chanyeol. He doesn’t try to question where it’s coming from, he just goes with it. The party will still be there when he comes back and in all honesty, he’s not so sure he wants to be around a crowd right now. He doesn’t know what exactly the Hufflepuff has planned but that only makes him more excited to find out. It’s been a long day, he doesn’t care what this looks like.

As he’s walking down the corridor the only noises are of his footsteps. He thinks about finding the snakes, about finding Chanyeol, about finding the room. It’s not long until he hears the familiar rustling and the door forming itself in front of him.

The hot air hits him immediately as he steps in. He strips down of all warm clothing and leaves it on the coat closet that the Room had given them a couple of days ago. The Room had given them many things.

There’s a small construction (one that looks suspiciously like a much smaller version of Hagrid’s Hut) by the edge of the river. It built itself around the bathroom that he had wished for on the first day. Inside it has couches and a dining table, as well as lamps and books and devices they can use to study the animals. Baekhyun takes his shoes off as well and heads towards the cabin, calling out for Chanyeol.

“In here!”

The door is open and from all the things Baekhyun expects to see, that was probably at the end of the list.

Chanyeol is standing in the middle of the room, next to the chairs and he’s holding both snakes in his arms. He almost misses at first but then he sees. Gertrude is wearing some sort of tiara with bunny ears. Fergus has a tiny top hat.

“Happy Halloween!” Chanyeol says.

“I had completely forgotten it was Halloween,” The Gryffindor admits. He takes a few steps closer so he can see the snakes better. “Those are really cute. Did you make them?”

“I did not,” Chanyeol grins. “The Room did.”

Gertrude raises her head to sniff around the room and see who it is. The second she recognizes his scent she turns away to wrap herself around Chanyeol. Baekhyun tries not to take it personally.

“Is she ever going to stop hating me?”

“She doesn’t hate you,” He makes a dismissive sound before extending his left, offering Fergus to Baekhyun. The animals still make him a little iffy, but Fergus hasn’t bitten him in almost a month. He lets the animal climb his arm and make himself comfortable around his shoulders. Chanyeol hums approvingly. “See? We were close enough. If she hated you, she would have charged on your throat.”

Baekhyun takes a few steps back. “How reassuring.”

“I’m just saying, you’ve made progress. You should be proud.”

“I am,” He frowns. “I guess.”

He gets told that _yes he is, don’t be a party pooper_ and then he gets asked if he’s hungry. They walk towards the edge of the clearing where a thick layer of grass separates them from the forest. It was the room’s way of creating a contained space for the animals to stay in and allow them to watch from a safe distance without disturbing them. Baekhyun leans over the division and lets Fergus slide free and next to him Chanyeol does the same.

It’s well known by the laws of magic that one can’t conjure food but so far the Room hasn’t denied them of anything they asked for. Baekhyun is debating whether or not he wants to risk getting the Room angry by asking for food when Chanyeol gets a basket from behind the couch and starts pulling sandwiches from it. The Hufflepuff sits on the table, so he joins him.

“You were amazing today,” He says after pouring them both pumpkin juice. “You’ve really improved over Summer.”

Baekhyun takes a sip. “Could’ve done better. I missed a lot of points.”

“What are you talking about? You had a lead of seventeen goals.”

“Technically, only two.”

Chanyeol studies him for a few seconds. “It’s still a lead. Ravenclaw has a solid attack formation. You should give yourself some credit.”

He shakes his head. “I was distracted.”

“By what?”

 _My parents,_ he thinks but doesn’t say. “Everything, I guess? It was our first game and I wasn’t even captain.”

“I promise you, no one could tell. You did well.”

Baekhyun waits until Chanyeol is done swallowing his sandwich. “Scout’s honor?”

Chanyeol smiles softly. “Scout’s honor.”

After they finish, the Hufflepuff brings out the sweets. It is Halloween, after all, and tradition says they should stuff their faces with chocolate until they’re too full to move. They talk some more about the game, about the new tactics Ravenclaw was using and Chanyeol is more than happy to share his technical opinion. There’s only so many chocolate frogs a man can handle so they both agree on a break from eating to rest before they can finish the rest of it.

Chanyeol suggests they get the snakes back so Baekhyun gets rid of the food smell before he can do that. The Hufflepuff disappears from the room and Baekhyun is left to tidy the rest of their dinner. The blond returns with a snake in each arm and he goes straight for the couch. Baekhyun sits next to him with his legs crossed so they’re facing each other and Chanyeol hands him Fergus. He tries not to move too much as the snake tries to find a spot on him. Gertrude seems perfectly content on the other’s lap.

Now that they’re sitting, Baekhyun finally notices the piece of paper leaning against the wall.

“Is that the sign you were holding at the game today?”

Chanyeol takes a peek at it. “Yep. Did you see it?”

“Hard not to.”

He smirks, petting Gertrude as if she’s a cat and he’s a cheesy villain. “Did you _like_ it?”

“I’ve seen better.” He shrugs.

Chanyeol laughs and couch shakes. The snakes aren’t fond of it. “Don’t be so salty, I know you love it.”

Baekhyun lets out a weak scoff, making himself comfortable so that Fergus can extend through his lap.

The sign says _‘I’M BETTING ON THE KEEPER’_.

  


✧･ﾟ:*✧･*✧･ﾟ:* ･✧

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aren't we all just. over the moon because of one kim jongdae. i love him,,,, he's an angel!!!! pls support him!!!
> 
> in other news, i'm writing another [ chanbaek ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17742788/chapters/41861378) and you should totally check it out!! it's probably the exact opposite of this one, but still the funniest thing i've ever written. 
> 
> also, if you wanna be friends just find me on [ twitter ](https://twitter.com/ohimemomo)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hellos!! i've taken my time with this one, but i hope it's worth the wait ;))

✧･ﾟ:*✧･*✧･ﾟ:* ･✧

 

November is a time for staying indoors. Soft sweaters, knitted socks, lounging cozily by the fireplace; your favorite blanket resting on your lap, a warm cup of tea in one hand and a nice book on the other.

Sitting in his shorts and tank top, his feet deep into the chill water of the river that’s glistening under the light and a nice breeze caressing his face while he reads the Daily Prophet about an upcoming blizzard, Baekhyun thinks it’s all incredibly funny.

His muffled laughter attracts Chanyeol’s attention. “Any funny comics over there?”

“No, just the regular,” He says, folding the newspaper and setting it aside. He leans back to rest on his hands and get a proper look at the Hufflepuff. “There’s going to be a snow storm soon. Wear extra layers and heating spells, the usual.”

Chanyeol giggles. “Funny stuff indeed.”

He’s drawing on his worn out journal again, Fergus sunbathing next to him, bright green scales contrasting with the grey rock. Chanyeol is resting his back against a large tree for its shade. His skin is glistening, probably from all the humidity in the Room. He’s not wearing a shirt. He discarded it long ago once because it kept sticking to his torso since he was sweating too much. He asked if Baekhyun minded.

He doesn’t.

“Do you know what time it is?”

“Two, maybe three?” Last time he checked it was half past noon. Baekhyun lifts his feet from the water and taps them around the grass a few times. He can see Gertrude sliding near the glass division. She's probably longer than Baekhyun is.

Chanyeol stands up as well. “We should get going, I don't wanna be late.” He starts dusting off the grass and dirt from his pants and then gives him a small smile. “The team is meeting up, quidditch stuff. You know the drill.”

Baekhyun does. He's not so sure why Chanyeol felt the need to explain himself, though. “Sure,” He shrugs, crouching down to collect his things from the ground. “We’ve probably been here for a while, anyway.”   

There's a pause. “You think we hang out in here too much?”

“Uh,” He raises his head to find the Hufflepuff giving him a weird look. “No? I just don't want to get sunburnt.”

Chanyeol smiles. Baekhyun doesn't know why he felt the need to explain _himself_ , either. The two of them busy themselves with tidying up everything before they can leave.

After the first weeks, the Room had proved itself to be the perfect solution after all. Professor Hagrid had been ecstatic about it, clapping approvingly as he walked around inspecting the jungle. The headmaster was also pleasantly impressed. They’ve all decided that it was for the best to keep the Room between the four of them not to attract unwanted attention to the animals or students trying to skip class (McGonagall made a point of keeping eye contact with Baekhyun as she said that. He pretended not to see it). All in all, he’s glad both professors were on board with the Room and he got to keep it. Truth be told, he was getting kind of attached.

In the middle of N.E.W.T.s, midterms, Quidditch and the bone-chilling cold front, the Room had become some sort of second common room for him and Chanyeol. Between watching over the snakes and studying, he’s probably spent more time here than anywhere in the castle. It’s convenient, it’s quiet; whatever he wants it’s a thought away, all he needs to do is ask. If the Room could produce food he would probably never leave.

He walks towards the door to put his coat and shoes back on, Chanyeol already doing the same. The Hufflepuff hands him his sweater and says something about putting the snakes back. If it comes to it, Baekhyun guesses he doesn’t mind the company, either.

Just as they're about to exit, the Room blinks. As if it's bidding them goodbye and telling them to come back soon.

His least favorite part about the whole thing is the sudden drop of temperature as soon as they step out into the hallway. Unlike the Gryffindor common room and the Great Hall, the stone corridors were not at all prepared to keep out the freezing from outside. Baekhyun immediately feels himself shudder as his breaths turn into mist right under his nose. Chanyeol wraps his robes tighter around himself and gestures ahead so they can go on their way.

The arrival of the coldest season also means that their load of homework and studying will double the closer they get to the winter holidays but even so, Baekhyun is feeling optimistic. He's doing much better during lessons these days, practicing charms instead of sharp broom turns and spending his afternoons with books instead of Quaffles. Even his Herbology essays were turning up with a congratulatory dancing Sunflower rather than a sad drawing of a Mandrake - as Professor Sprout would usually do when she found an assignment particularly disappointing. It felt nice to be on top of his studies instead of drowning under them, for once. As nonsensical as the headmaster's plan to get him to focus on his N.E.W.T.s was, no one could deny it was working.

Professor McGonagall, in particular, seemed very much pleased with herself. Every week she would send him a note with an encouraging message and a question or two about his studies. Whether she was proud of him or her methods, Baekhyun couldn't care less - as long as he wasn't kicked out from the team. He's going to have to wait until January to know for sure.

Keyword, optimistic.

To his side, Chanyeol is blabbering about some sort of Muggle computer game he's hinting at his parents for a gift so Baekhyun hums along in good nature. He understands nothing about games (even less about computers) but the Hufflepuff gets so excited whenever he gets the chance to talk about them that Baekhyun doesn't have the heart to admit that it doesn't interest him in the slightest. It's the least he can do since he knows Chanyeol doesn't particularly care about Astronomy but still offered to keep him company to map out the constellations. His huge smile doesn't hurt either.

They part ways at the edge of the stairs - Baekhyun towards Gryffindor Tower and Chanyeol down to the Basement - with cheerful goodbyes and plans to have breakfast together the next day. At the back of his mind, Baekhyun makes sure to remind himself that the only reason for that is to revise on certain ingredients, but he heads towards the painting of the Fat Lady feeling a little bit warmer, anyway.

 

✧･ﾟ:*✧･*✧･ﾟ:* ･✧

 

During the first week of December, Baekhyun finds himself doing something he had never done before: he raises his hand when the head of Gryffindor House stops by the Tower to ask which students intend to stay in the castle during the holidays. It's so unexpected that even the professor raises an eyebrow at him as he does it, along with some of his housemates.

Truth is, even if he wasn't a particularly festive person, Baekhyun always opted to take the train home for the week than being here by himself. Of course, many other students stayed at the castle so he wouldn't be alone _alone,_ but his closest friends were Jongdae, Sehun, and Jongin and considering that the first was a family friend and the two last were well, _family_ , Baekhyun had very little incentive not to go. The reason he surprised everyone (counting himself) came in the form of an owl sent by Professor Hagrid only two days prior.

The note was actually an invitation for both him and Chanyeol to head for the Hut as soon as they were done with their morning classes. They met by the Clocktower Courtyard to make their way down together, neither quite sure of the reason but with good guesses that it had everything to do with their scaly friends.

Hagrid was in the process of trying to fit an umbrella inside a remarkably small suitcase when they let themselves in. “Oh, there you are! Come on in, come on in!” He sounded agitated. “I have something to tell yeh!”

While Chanyeol tiptoed around the many clothing items scattered around to help their teacher, Baekhyun sank to the ground to let Fang give him kisses. Before he could even ask what all the packing was about Hagrid started to excitedly tell them about this group of friends he had from a few years back and this trip they were taking to Romania to help an injured dragon. Chanyeol perked up on the spot, already cooking up ideas of how he was going to sneak out of the castle to join him but Hagrid said that it would be impossible and that was not why they were there. The Hufflepuff tried really hard not to pout and Baekhyun tried really hard not to laugh at him.

Hagrid needed a favor. He had no way of knowing how long this trip would last but he wasn’t expecting to be back before the new year. The half-giant said he knew it was a lot to ask, but he had no one else to turn to. He wanted to ask if either of them would be willing to give up spending the holidays with their families to keep an eye on the snakes.

Chanyeol’s response was immediate. Baekhyun’s wasn’t.

On the walk back to the castle, the Hufflepuff assured him he was more than happy to keep the snakes company, that he wouldn’t be alone since Yoora would have to stay as well and that Baekhyun had nothing to worry about. He said so many times that day. Baekhyun expected to feel relieved, but all he got was a nasty pinch of guilt during dinner at the Gryffindor table. Nayeon nudged him with her elbow and told him to cheer up since Christmas was coming.

Two days later Baekhyun signed the damn list. He stands up first so he can sign it first and not have time to second guess himself. He hands the next student the quill, steps back and lets it sink in. No turning back now.

Jongdae, as it turns out, thinks it’s an act of betrayal.

“How dare you!” He wails, startling the students passing by the hallway. Jongin gracefully dodges away from him to stand next to Baekhyun instead.

“What’s the big deal?” He asks. “We spent the past sixteen holidays together, what difference can one make?”

“What do you mean, ‘ _what difference_ ’? It’s our last year.” He watches as Jongdae’s shoulders fall with each word. “We’ve been busy as house elves these past weeks, we barely hang out anymore.” The way he drags the last part stings a little. “It’s our thing man, the four of us, every Christmas.” He turns to Jongin for support. “Come on, Jongin, tell him.”

“Uhh, I don’t know.” The Hufflepuff shifts uncomfortably in his feet. He hates taking sides. “I don’t want him to stay, either, but we can’t force him, hyung.”

Jongdae looks even more betrayed. He snarls at the Hufflepuff and claims that Sehun would take his side. Sehun still hasn’t come from his Potions class, so they have no way of knowing for sure. Not that Baekhyun thinks the answer will be a surprise.   

“I’m sorry, Dae,” He sighs. He means it, too. He hates his friend to death but he _is_ his friend. “I already made a promise to Professor Hagrid. He’s counting on me.”

He gets a half scoff for a reply. Jongin looks at him sympathetically. “Do you want us to talk the head of our house? We’ll tell them we changed our minds, I’m sure they’ll allow it.”

“No, you don’t have to do that.” He smiles. Jongin is technically not related to him by blood but he likes him a lot more than he likes his actual relative, Sehun. “Isn’t this Kyungsoo’s first Christmas with a traditional wizard family? You can’t do that to him.”

Jongin’s face falls but Baekhyun doesn’t miss the hint of a smile that forms in his lips when he thinks about taking Kyungsoo home with him. He settles for saying that if that’s what Baekhyun wants, then it’s okay by him. Jongdae, on the other hand, is still scowling in the corner.

“Hey, don’t be such a drama queen. We still have two more weeks before you leave.” Jongdae moves away when Baekhyun tries to pat his shoulder. “It’s just for a couple of days, anyway. You won’t even notice I’m gone.” He adds gently.

The Slytherin mutters under his breath something that sounds awfully like ‘ _I’ll notice_ ’ before he nudges the two of them so they can start walking. Jongin takes upon himself to play pacifier and places an arm around each of their shoulders and leads the way.

Just as Baekhyun thinks he can get away with not talking about it for the rest of the day, they run into Chanyeol right before they enter the library.

"Oh, hey there!" He points behind. "Careful inside, Madam Pince is in a mood today." He considers it for a second. "Well, an even worst mood, anyway."

Baekhyun shudders. "Thanks for the heads up." He notices the thick book Chanyeol is holding. It looks brand new. "She gave you a hard time for that one?"

"Hmm, this?" He shows them the cover. It's a book on Dragonology. "Nah, this is mine! I got it for my birthday! Isn't it cool?"

Jongin takes and starts browsing through the pages. "You already read two-thirds of it!" He complains. Chanyeol takes it as a compliment.

Baekhyun is still stuck in the _birthday_ part. Was it Chanyeol's birthday? When was it? Why did no one tell him? Why does Jongin seem to know about the book?

"Did you get him that?" He asks his friend. Both Hufflepuffs turn to him.

"No, Kyungsoo did." He says. "I just went with him to Hogsmeade."

"Oh," He blinks. "When was this?"

"Two weeks ago? Three?" The Seeker makes a face. "Soo left it to the last minute."

Baekhyun's eyes widen and he turns to Chanyeol. "Your birthday was two weeks ago?!"

"Last week, actually." He says easily.

 _Oh, yikes_. "I didn't know, I'm so sorry."

If Chanyeol is bothered, he shows no sign whatsoever. "No biggie, we didn't do anything special, anyway."

"We had muggle cake," Jongdae comments, giving the book a glance over. "Something called a stun-fetti."

" _Fun-_ fetti." Supplies Jongin. Baekhyun turns to them.

"You were there?!" There's a collective shrug between his friends. He directs his attention to Chanyeol instead. "Why didn't you ask me?"

The Hufflepuff watches him for a second. "I did, we were going to the Three Broomsticks."

Baekhyun flinches. Yeah, totally his fault. "I'm so sorry, I would have gone if I knew."

"Don't worry about it, Baek," He says with a small smile. "Like I said, no biggie."

Sure enough, the atmosphere becomes gradually more awkward. He kind of wishes they had this conversation back in the Room, with the snakes and not Baekhyun's friends. There's a handful of different emotions running inside his head but he can only pinpoint some of them. He feels confused, of course, and a tiny bit embarrassed. There's also a hint of betrayal, wherever that has come from. He doesn't think he should be trusting his head right now, though. It's like he's been hit by a stun charm.

Chanyeol seems to sense his pleas since he's quick to change the subject. "Did you guys get the invitation for Slughorn's Christmas party, too?"

"Yeah," Jongdae shrugs. "Gotta be honest, the envelopes were a lot nicer last year."

Jongin scoffs. "You're only saying that because last year they were green."

They all ignore the Slytherin's complaints. Chanyeol looks his way. "What about you, Baek? Are you going?"

"Yeah, I'm going as Dae's date."

The person in question suddenly looks highly suspicious. "Uhh, no not you're not." He has that smirk on his lips. Baekhyun loathes that smirk. "I'm taking Jongin." He then loops his arm around Jongin's.

Baekhyun narrows his eyes. "I thought Kyungsoo was taking Jongin?"

Jongdae elbows the Hufflepuff so he'll say something. Jongin mumbles out his words. "Uhh, he's… He's going with Sehun, actually."

Baekhyun narrows his eyes  _more._ "Kyungsoo and Sehun are both in the Slug Club," He says through pursed lips. "Neither of them need a date."

At moments like these Baekhyun is reminded that not everyone is a Gryffindor, so not everyone is too proud to shamelessly run away from an argument. Jongdae simply gives him a look before exclaiming _"We have to go!"_ and dashing down the hall, dragging Jongin along with him.

Well. There’s that now.

Students are still passing by chatting amongst themselves so there technically isn’t any silence between them, but it might as well be. Baekhyun is two seconds away from running away himself.

"So," Chanyeol starts casually, like he's discussing the weather. "I'm guessing you _don't_ have a date to Christmas party?" Baekhyun huffs instead of answering and the Hufflepuff giggles. He _giggles_. "Would you come with me, then?"

This time, Chanyeol's voice sounds unsure. He probably thinks this is a lost cause given that Baekhyun has already said no more times than he can count. Well. What can he do, honestly? He's going to have to start saying yes at some point. Curse Jongdae and curse Jongin and curse this stupid Christmas party.

"Sure, why not?" He says with a sigh. "Should be fun."

 

✧･ﾟ:*✧･*✧･ﾟ:* ･✧

 

Baekhyun is not _nervous_.

It's a Christmas party, it's Slughorn's annual Christmas party. Baekhyun attended the past three, it's really not that big of a deal. He's going with his friend for a small event, they're going to eat food, drink mulled wine and hang out with their other friends. Baekhyun has absolutely no reason to feel nervous whatsoever.

So you can imagine his confusion when he feels a void inside his stomach sucking in his heart with each step he takes towards Slughorn's office. Or how he kept fidgeting with his robes in front of the mirror back at Gryffindor Tower, or how he barely ate anything all afternoon.

It's not like he has a problem being around Chanyeol, that's practically all he does these days. It has come to a point that he sees the Hufflepuff more than his own roommates, so clearly, there's something else. It has to be something else. Baekhyun is dreading the distance as it becomes shorter. Seriously, this is just pathetic.

There's the whole thing with the _birthday_ incident, too. The more Chanyeol insisted he didn't mind the worst Baekhyun felt about it. He didn't even know the date, his friends refused to tell him and he was too mortified to ask. After some time he decided he wanted to make it up for it, get the Hufflepuff a great gift for Christmas. To say thank you, of course, for all his help with his studies and the animals. Of course.

With that said, he's been writing down some ideas. He tried chatting around with Chanyeol's other friends for some pointers, but he had something that would be absolutely perfect if he could pull it off. He'd sent a letter home and asked his mother to pull some strings and Gilly was going to help him the best she could. But that was a big if, so he needed a back-up plan just in case.

His thoughts of gifts and letters get swiped away under the rug as soon as he makes a turn and sees his date waiting for him. He looks… well. Handsome is a word for it. He's wearing a traditional Muggle suit piece, his blond hair is combed back and he has fancy shoes on. He's smiling.

"Hey, Baek." He says when the Gryffindor gets close enough.

"Hey," Baekhyun smiles. "You clean up nice."

Chanyeol moves to join him and gestures so they walk together. "So do you."

Professor Slughorn's office looks amazing. The room, always much bigger for this occasion than it is for the rest of the year, is entirely decorated with dark blue fabrics and tapestries and gold and silver ornaments that seem to have a magic glow of their own. The lighting is very soft, a single chandelier made out of what Baekhyun assumes is solid gold and tiny sparks of light floating around at ground level, almost like fireflies. Everyone around is wearing their fanciest clothes and accessories, happily chatting around with each other while they snack on the ridiculously small entrees.

As soon as they step in Chanyeol gets pulled into a hug by his sister and someone places a tray of eggnog right under Baekhyun’s nose. He greets Miss Park and mumbles out a compliment on her dress, to which she replies with a bright smile and by petting him in the head (Baekhyun feels the tips of his ears burn). She excuses herself when a different group of people beckons her over, leaving the two of them to mingle with the other students. Somehow they end up hanging out with the bookworms and teacher’s pets of the bunch and unfortunately, they’re both too polite to run away. Every now and then as they nod away through the acceptable mingling before they can move on, Chanyeol sends him an accomplice smile from behind his glass and it makes Baekhyun want to giggle. He tries his best not to, though.

Soon after they get rid of and with barely an exchange of looks they both make a beeline towards the food table. They end up catching up with some of their other classmates there, sharing jokes about their teachers and their plans for the holidays. At first, his one and only goal for the evening was to keep out of trouble and avoid his Slytherin friend’s like the plague but as soon as he spotted the flask with fire whiskey Jongdae was hiding under his robes, he ran to his best friend and gave him a hug. Jongdae raises his eyebrow but hands him the bottle without a hassle.  

The room is warm, the food is delicious, the music is pleasant and Baekhyun feels happy. He’s having a great time, even if he’s barely getting to talk to Chanyeol at all.

Speaking of Chanyeol, he hasn’t seen him ever since the Hufflepuff mentioned something about needing the loo about ten, fifteen minutes ago. Now that he thinks about it, he wouldn’t mind taking a break from the crowd, either. He whispers something to Jongin and sneaks around the students so he can get back to the hallway.

His first thought is that he has no idea which bathroom the blond went. The second is that it’s Merlin damn freezing out. He immediately hugs himself and rubs his forearms to keep warm, cursing himself for leaving his overcoat back in the room. It’s too cold to take time to think so Baekhyun simply turns to his right and sets off.

He runs straight into Chanyeol just as he reaches the corner.

“Baek, hey!” The blond says, sounding only a tad confused. At least Chanyeol didn’t forget his coat. “Where are you going?”

Baekhyun shivers before answering. “Nowhere.”

“Oh, okay.” The Hufflepuff blinks. “Can I come?”

“Sure.”

Baekhyun doesn’t know where he’s going. He _thought_ he wanted to go to the bathroom but as of now he just feels like walking. He reminds himself that he’s freezing and that if he had any brains he’d be running right back to the party, but he doesn’t. Honestly, he kind of just wants Chanyeol for himself, even if it’s just for a couple of minutes.

He sighs. He really should think twice before drinking anything Jongdae hands him.

“What’s on your mind?”

Their footsteps echo against the stone floor. They’re walking in unison. “Just Jongdae.” He says, after a while.

“What about him?”

“He’s really untrustworthy.”

The Hufflepuff chuckles. To his credit, he doesn’t seem to be taking this conversation seriously. “He’s your best friend, right?”

“Yeah,” Baekhyun frowns. “I guess.”

“Then you’re stuck with him.”

Baekhyun mulls over it before shrugging. “I’m stuck with him.”

The further they get from the party the darker the hallways get. Baekhyun thinks about using his wand to produce a Lumos spell but the Moon is shining so bright he decides against it. They’re nearing the end of the West Wing, towards the Great Hall. He still doesn’t know where he’s going. He wonders how far he can go before Chanyeol asks.

“Aren’t you cold?” He says, instead.

“A little, yeah.”

The Hufflepuff places his coat over Baekhyun’s shoulders and doesn’t ask anything else. Baekhyun smiles to himself and angles his walk a bit to the right, just enough so his side brushes Chanyeol’s.

When they finally stop walking is to lean against the windows that overlook the Dark Lake. There’s a thin layer of frost covering the glass and his fingertips leave a mark after he places his hand against it. Chanyeol rests both his elbows over the sill and points out how pretty the Moon looks reflected on the water. Baekhyun isn’t looking at the lake, but he can’t help but agree. Maybe he’s too tipsy for this.

“Are you having fun?” He asks.

Chanyeol doesn’t take his eyes off the glass. “You mean right now?”

“Yeah.”

“Not gonna lie, I’d be having a blast if I wasn’t so scared my toes would fall off.” He makes a face and Baekhyun starts to feel bad because well, it’s _his_ fault they’re out here freezing their noses and not at the party stuffing their faces with baked goods and mulled wine. It must have shown in his face because Chanyeol quickly nudges him with his shoulder. “I’m just joking, Baek. I’m glad I came here with you.”

He knows  _here_ doesn’t just mean their impromptu night stroll around the castle, but Slughorn’s party as well. He knows because he’s glad, too. Even with all the other students, teachers and guests, even with having attended the party the previous years, this time felt somewhat special. He felt good the second the two of them made their way into the professor’s room and all through the rest of the evening, and Baekhyun doubts it was the fire whiskey. It’s just Chanyeol. Chanyeol makes him calm. He wants to laugh because it reminds of how nervous  _he_ felt as he stared into his reflection earlier that night. Right now, he just feels rather giddy.

"I'm glad we're friends, Chanyeol." He says, finally.

The Hufflepuff doesn't answer. In fact, he stops eating altogether and stares at him, looking almost scandalized. Baekhyun frowns.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

The blond grins. "You called me Chanyeol."

"So? That's your name, I call you Chanyeol all the time."

"No, you don't." He shakes his head for emphasis. Before he continues, he makes a funny face. "You barely address me by name, actually, but when you do," He turns to him again. He's still smiling, somehow. "You call me _Park_."

Was that true? Baekhyun blinks several times, trying to get himself to see one Hufflepuff instead of three. That couldn't be right, could it? He definitely called him Chanyeol before, why wouldn't he?

"Well, that's not right." He mumbles, mostly to himself. He can't remember if he meant to do it out loud or not.

The blond tilts his head slightly, the moonlight sparkling in his eyes. "It's okay, Baekhyun. I don't mind."

There’s a lot of things Chanyeol doesn’t mind, Baekhyun thinks. Suddenly finding himself short of a friend as soon as he made Hufflepuff's team and never knowing why, being treated coldly for no reason, taking some of his precious time to help out an ungrateful classmate, having his invitations to Hogsmeade refused, again and again. Just thinking about it, reliving these moments, brings a lump to Baekhyun’s throat he can’t quite swallow down. He thinks about all the things he wants to say, the things he should say, but he doesn’t even know where to begin.

For now, he settles for just one.

"You're too nice, Chanyeol."

 

✧･ﾟ:*✧･*✧･ﾟ:* ･✧

 

Baekhyun wakes up on Christmas day to a mountain of gifts at the foot of his bed.

Not a pile, but a _mountain._ He guessed his relatives felt bad for him for being all alone up here. Well, far from him to start complaining in the face of such generosity.

Only one of his roommates stayed back for Christmas and he’s far too busy with his own presents to pay Baekhyun any mind so he feels no shame in waddling down and starting to pull packages into his lap, tearing up the pretty wrappings in the process. The presents vary from lots of sweets and little ornaments, a beautiful gold astronomical compendium from his uncle and aunt, a collectors quill set made out of Phoenix feather from his grandparents, a brand new pair of dragon leather gloves, a couple of books and a hand carved lion made out of wood from Gilly. Baekhyun feels just as excited as he did when he was ten. He snacks on a pack of jelly snugs while he reads the letters attached to the gifts, thinking to himself that there is no better way to start a morning.

The rest of the day goes by just as pleasantly. Baekhyun has only one wish and that's to eat every single thing that comes across his face. He greets his roommate after they’re both done opening their presents and they both decide to head for the Great Hall for the feast together. It had been snowing for the past few days, the grounds completely covered by a fluffy white blanket and making up for a beautiful scenery outside the castle walls. Baekhyun sends out a silent thank you to his mother for the delicate brooch with a heating charm she gifted him, worried about the freezing weather.

Instead of the usual four tables in the Great Hall, there’s only one, students and professors sitting side by side. Baekhyun spots some of the other Gryffindor’s and sits next to them, waving at Chanyeol who’s with his sister a couple of seats over. Above them magic snowflakes fall slowly and disappear before they can reach them, the floating candles seem to shine a bit more brightly and the fireplace burns a bit warmer. They listen to tales from their teachers, about past Christmas and funny stories and even the ghosts have a thing or two to share. After eating, laughing, popping festive crackers and then eating some more, Baekhyun thinks to himself that he’s glad he’s spent at least one Christmas in Hogwarts, even if it was the last one.

It’s only by the time dessert is served that Baekhyun finally gets talk to Chanyeol. They wish each other happy holidays and talk about what they each got as a present. Chanyeol got that computer game he wanted so much and he’s rather excited about it (of course he can’t play it just yet since electronic devices don’t work inside the castle, but he’s excited nonetheless). Baekhyun tells him about his new Astronomy equipment and shares his plan to go on a trip during the Summer to map out a new constellation with his uncle.

After they’re both too full of food to even think about anything else, the headmaster announces that the students should return to their common rooms to rest while she and the other professors get the Great Hall ready for the evening. According to Baekhyun’s roommate, it was a Christmas tradition that the Great Hall got turned into a cozy space with comfortable chairs, couches and blankets and students from all houses were welcome to hang out by the big fireplace together. As they get ready to walk out, Chanyeol lazily suggests they go check up on the snakes instead of returning to their own common rooms.

“Sure, um,” Baekhyun rubs his own arm. “I just need to go get something from my room. Meet you there?”

Chanyeol nods and tells him not to take long. With his heart pounding on his ears, Baekhyun marches back to Gryffindor Tower.

He had done it. After countless letters and favors owed to the Byun Family, he finally got the perfect present. His mother was suspicious of his request, to say the least, but she was kind enough not to press him too much about it and Gilly was even kinder to apparate it to the castle so it wouldn’t get damaged while traveling by owl. He walks straight into the boy’s dormitories and to his bed where the package is securely locked inside of his truck. With butterflies in his stomach, Baekhyun hides the present under his robes and sets off, wishing the Fat Lady a happy Christmas on his way out.

Luckily for him, the Room is quite close to Gryffindor Tower, so he doesn’t have to overthink about it for too long. He barely even realizes he’s arrived until he hears himself saying those words under his breath, over and over again.

_“I need to go to the place where Chanyeol is, I need to go to the place where Chanyeol is.”_

He doesn’t forget to thank the Room when the door begins to form in front of him.

It’s impossibly hot inside, of course, so he wastes no time and removes layer after layer until all he has on is his shirt and pants, leaving the rest by the coat hanger. He performs the scent removing spell on himself and hides the parcel behind his back before he enters the small Hut.

The Hufflepuff is already on the floor with the snakes, the animals looking as excited as he is. It’s honestly rather disconcerting just how big the animals have become, especially Gertrude, and it’s even more disconcerting just how not scared of them Chanyeol is. Baekhyun shakes his head and approaches the three of them.

“Oh, there you are!” Says Chanyeol, gently peeling Fergus off of his arm. “Come sit down, I have a surprise for you!”

He gets up before Baekhyun can say anything and drags him to the center of the room and sits him down on the couch before running off again. He appears again a few seconds later, holding a prettily wrapped package of his own and a huge smile on his face.

“Wait, wait!” Baekhyun exclaims before he can, already sensing where this is going. “I have a gift for you, too! Let me go first!”

Chanyeol’s expression goes from slightly taken aback by the sudden change to happily excited in the span of two seconds. Baekhyun tries not to laugh as the Hufflepuff plops himself on the couch and makes grabby hands like a little kid. It’s funny, he thinks, because he’s not nervous this time - just excited; he’s been planning this moment for the past month and right now all he wants is to see the look on Chanyeol’s face once he realizes just what he’s holding.

"Happy belated birthday, Chanyeol.” He says as he watches the blond rip the wrapping apart with no restraint. “And Merry Christmas."

Well, he was right to anticipate the look on his face. It’s truly priceless.

It takes several moments before Chanyeol even moves, turning the book in his hands to inspect it. He doesn’t seem to think it’s real, and why should he? An exclusive copy from the first print of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them with handwritten anecdotes and tips by Newt Scamander himself is an incredibly rare and valuable item to be kept in libraries, museums, and collectors vaults, not in the hands of a seventh-year student. Chanyeol’s eyes are wide and his mouth can’t seem to stay closed and Baekhyun feels his entire chest warm.

He leans over and peeks at the pages. “Do you like it?”

“Is this,” Chanyeol breathes out. He’s handling the book like it’s the most fragile thing he’s ever seen. He raises his head and stares at Baekhyun with those big round eyes of his. “Is this real? Is this for me?”

Baekhyun wonders if he would feel like this way if he was gifting anyone else other than the Hufflepuff. “Of course.” He says softly.

Chanyeol goes very quickly from stunned to flushed. “Are you out of your mind?! I can’t accept this!” He tries to hand the book back to Baekhyun but the Gryffindor dodged easily. “I’m serious Baekhyun, this is far too valuable! Where did you even get this?!”

He shrugs nonchalantly. “Just something I had in the basement.”

The Hufflepuff looks affronted, torn between securing the book close to his chest and placing it down. He closes his eyes, shaking his head from side to side. “Baek, I can’t-, I can’t…”

“Yes, you can! I gave it to you, it’s yours, I don’t want it.” He crosses his own arms for good measure. “No returns, no exchanges, no refunds.”

“But-.”

“No, shut it.”

For all it’s worth, Chanyeol does shut it. He looks absolutely lost, clearly wanting to keep the present from himself but his conscience telling him no. Still, Baekhyun is stubborn and he will not take a no for an answer. He keeps his smile on as he watches Chanyeol’s defenses slowly crumble down the longer the Hufflepuff stares at the book in his hands.

He bites his lips before looking up again. “Are you one hundred percent sure about this?”

“One hundred and twenty.”

It takes a little more convincing but he ends up accepting the gift. He then starts to gush about it, excitedly reading out passages from it and telling Baekhyun about his own notes regarding the beast in question. He declares again and again that it’s the best gift he’s ever gotten ever in his life and pulls Baekhyun into a bone-crushing hug.

And then his mood drops drastically. He gets up, delicately places his new book at the coffee table and starts pacing around chanting quiets “ _oh no’s_ ” like a crazy person.

“What’s the matter?” Baekhyun asks, moving his feet out of the way so Chanyeol doesn’t trip down.

“Your present!” He whines. “I can’t give you your present, now!”

The Gryffindor frowns. “Why?”

“It’s not nearly as good! Oh, God.”

Baekhyun grabs the Hufflepuff’s arm and pulls him back to the couch before he starts pulling his own hairs out. “I’ll be the judge of that, now give me my gift.”

Chanyeol doesn’t look convinced in the slightest but he slowly brings the package to his lap, making Baekhyun promise he won’t laugh before he gingerly places it on his hands.

It’s a simple parcel. The wrapping paper is an opaque golden color and a thin black bow. Whatever’s inside it, it feels very soft and malleable, so maybe some sort of clothing. Baekhyun unwraps it much more care than Chanyeol did, pulling the strings of the bow and letting the paper open by itself. He needs a few seconds to fully understand what he’s looking at, but when he doesn’t know how to feel.

It’s a sweater. A simple, hand-knitted sweater, just like the one Chanyeol wore every day leading up to Halloween. Except, the wool is made out of a rich wine color instead of black and it has no skeletons at all, just a single green snake lying asleep, wrapped around itself.

“What is this?” He says, running his fingers through the fabric. It feels as soft as Chanyeol.

“I asked my grandma to knit it.” He says timidly. He’s keeping his head low, avoiding Baekhyun’s eyes. “But given your gift, I feel kind of dumb now.”

He’s still studying the patterns, how delicate the embroidery is. “Is this…” He starts. “Is this Fergus?”

“Yeah, actually. I have Gertrude on mine,” The Hufflepuff reaches behind him for a sweater exactly like the one Baekhyun is holding, only that one is yellow instead of red. “I'd be wearing it, but it's technically Summer in here and I wouldn't want a heat stroke on Christmas,” Chanyeol breathes out a weak laugh. “I enchanted them to interact when we get close enough, see?” He places his sweater on Baekhyun’s lap and when he does, both snakes start to move around, curling around each other like they do when they're happy. The Gryffindor stares at it, at loss for words. He blinks several times and the longer he stays quiet the more nervous Chanyeol looks. “You hate it, don't you? Oh, Baek, I'm so sorry-.”

Baekhyun feels the lump on his throat again, and he knows what it is now. Chanyeol keeps blabbering and he needs him to just _shut up already_ so he lunges forward.

He moves too fast and too desperate and he ends up messily kissing the corner of  Chanyeol’s mouth instead. It works, at least, because the Hufflepuff stops talking immediately. Baekhyun pulls back slightly, taking slow breaths as he keeps his eyes on the other's lips. He sees Chanyeol swallow down and he thinks he's going to start talking again.

He doesn't. He closes the distance between them, kissing him for real this time.

Of all things he was expecting, he didn't expect it to feel this… right.

He's kissed people before. The neighbor's daughter on Sehun's fifth birthday party, a Gryffindor girl after his first Quidditch win, his classmate behind the Greenhouses after he gifted her a sparkling rose, the Ravenclaw head boy on truth or dare during his fifth year - he's by no means inexperienced. He knows what to do and is pretty confident he's good at it. It's something he's always associated it with running because it's exciting, it's fun, gets his heart beating a bit faster because there's always the feeling he might get in trouble. It's mischievous, and he loved it.

Chanyeol, though… Chanyeol kisses like he's flying. It’s not just exciting, it’s _thrilling_. That same chill down his spine he gets when he dives with his broom, that same high, that same urge. Baekhyun pulls him by the sides of his shirt, his crossed legs on the couch getting in the way of them getting closer and Chanyeol’s knee digging on his chest and he almost wants to laugh at the absurdity of it all, of how he feels like he’s been waiting so long, _so long_ , that he can’t even bring himself to sit properly.

On the other end, Chanyeol seems perfectly calm. He takes his time while Baekhyun keeps trying to take more, his grip around him firm and gentle at the same time. He pulls Baekhyun closer his own way, using his position to his advantage and turning so he can move his legs. At the back of his mind, Baekhyun thinks that maybe he flies a little differently than he does, has been waiting a little longer than he did.  

Chanyeol stops moving for a split second, turning his face to the side a few millimeters. Not enough to drive Baekhyun away, but enough so that he can speak.

"Is…” He pants as Baekhyun plants small pecks to the corner of his lips. “Is something burning?"

Baekhyun thinks about himself, his fingertips, his skin, his lips, and he kinda wants to laugh because yes, something _is_ burning, but then the unmistakable smell of smoke reaches him. And then the sound of wood crackling.

Almost in slow motion, both he and Chanyeol turn their heads together and they both see it at the same time.

Fire.

The snakes. The snakes are on fire.

 

✧･ﾟ:*✧･*✧･ﾟ:* ･✧

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> merry belated christmas, my friends <3
> 
>  
> 
> if you wanna be friends just find me on [ twitter ](https://twitter.com/ohimemomo)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi
> 
> it's been twelve years but i'm still here and this story is getting finished whether anyone cares or not!!! 
> 
> i currently don't have my computer so this was written on mobile so overlook any mistakes, i'll revise later sigh. 
> 
> have fun~

✧･ﾟ:*✧･*✧･ﾟ:* ･✧

 

Your first instinct is to find the things you love most and make sure they're safe. The second one is to get as far away from danger as possible. 

Baekhyun doesn't move.

He sees the fire, he sees it spreading over the carpet and the smoke rising. He sees Chanyeol desperately trying to get him to  _ get up _ , saying they need to leave and get help, that they're in danger but, most of all, he sees the snakes.

They're on fire, yes, but they're not burning. They're not in distress, in pain, trying to get away — they're perfectly calm. Fergus seems to be leaving a trail of ashes behind him as he moves. Gertrude has flames all through her body, the thin fissures between each scale glowing like an ember. The fire isn't around them, it's  _ in them _ . They're causing it. 

Of course, fire is still fire, and it takes Chanyeol shaking Baekhyun by the shoulders for him to finally snap out of it.

His wand is ahead of him before he even stands, extinguishing charm at the tip of his tongue. The fire dies out inch by inch, dissipating into the air and leaving no trace but the burn marks on the floor and furniture. It’s gone, but the snakes are still burning.

“What is going  _ on _ ?!” Chanyeol urges, dragging out the syllables as he tries to pull Baekhyun away from with him.

Baekhyun shakes him off. “I don’t know,” he hesitates. Fire begins to spread again, slower this time. “I think, ” he takes a few cautious steps over, the Hufflepuff behind him like a shadow. “I think it’s  _ them _ .”

As crazy as it sounds, he just can’t see any other explanation. Nothing around them looks out of the ordinary or potentially incendiary; it’s so hot in here that there’s no need for a fireplace and the lamps are perfectly safe (not to mention out of reach). It can’t be the dry air either, the Room being humid enough that it leaves them constantly sweating. 

It has to be them. Fergus wraps himself around the foot of the table. Baekhyun extends his wand again, ready to put out the flames.

Except — he doesn’t need to. The fire doesn’t spread, doesn’t grow. He waits and waits but nothing changes. The flames make no damage to the table at all. 

Baekhyun lets his eyes roam around the room, back to the carpet and curtains, both destroyed. 

“How can it be them?” Chanyeol mutters, more to himself than anything else. “It makes no sense.”

The glowing beneath Fergus’ scales gets gradually less intense the more he wraps himself around the block of wood. Once the animal finds a comfortable enough position at the bottom, it stops altogether. Sliding across the cold stone by their feet, the same happens with Gertrude. They’re completely normal, as if nothing had happened. 

Baekhyun can’t do much but to stare in awe, honestly.

“It’s a magical beast, Chanyeol,” he says, after some time. “They don’t need to make any sense.”

The Hufflepuff shakes his head lightly. He approaches the snakes with wary steps, careful not to stand too close in case of it happening again. “What I’m saying is, Professor Hagrid told us that Boitatas are protectors of the woods.” He crouches down in front of Gertrude. He sounds unsure. “How are they protecting anything by setting the trees on fire?”

From where he’s standing, Baekhyun can’t see the look in his eyes. “They're not,” he says. “Their fire doesn’t catch on wood.”

Chanyeol turns his head to look at him. There’s a small frown on his forehead, a trace of confusion in his eyes but he says nothing. They look at each other for a long, stretched, moment and Baekhyun can almost see the engines working inside of his head. It’s almost endearing. 

The snakes are both snuggled up now, Gertrude around Chanyeol’s feet and Fergus by the table. Chanyeol looks down from one to the other and then back at Baekhyun.

“I’m gonna take a wild guess here and say,” he gives Baekhyun a  _ look _ . “Hagrid had no idea they would actually catch on fire, or he wouldn't shut up about it."

They both burst out laughing. 

After a quick conversation, the two of them decide to hang around for a little longer until they can be sure the snakes won't catch on fire again. Chanyeol reaches for his (about to fall apart) journal and starts taking notes on the animals, murmuring theories under his breath. Baekhyun decides to lead the snakes back outside, using a Lumos spell to light his path around the pitch black forest. 

Chanyeol is next to him in seconds, journal still in hand and scribbling down furiously with his self-inking quill. They sit down on the edge of the clearing and watch as the snakes disappear between the branches, no sign of new flames. 

They talk about it. Talk about the possibilities, the dangers, the causes. It’s not something either of them had ever heard of, even with Chanyeol’s extensive knowledge on magical beasts. Chanyeol starts listing every creature somewhat connected to fire he can think of, Dragons, Phoenixes, Firedrakes, Fire Crabs, Blast-Ended Screwts — Baekhyun didn’t even know the last one. They agree to spend the following days doing research on those animals and possibly some new ones, Chanyeol’s brand new book coming in handy. They also decide to write a letter to Hagrid first thing in the morning and pray that Baekhyun’s owl can reach him in Romania. 

It’s way past midnight when they finally leave the room, wrapped tightly in their sweaters and scarves and both holding their precious gifts. The castle is deserted, as expected, and the cold burns the tips of Baekhyun’s ears. 

They say their goodnights by the stairs and Baekhyun watches as Chanyeol makes his way to the dungeons before he can sneak back to his own tower. 

(The Fat Lady scowls at him for waking her up this late at night, threatening to snitch on him to the headmaster if he does it again. He apologizes profusely.)

It occurs to Baekhyun just as the door of his dorm closes that the snakes  _ catching on fire _ ended up being a pretty fine distraction. A little over an hour had passed and the reality of his actions had yet to sink in. He kissed Chanyeol.

He kissed Chanyeol. With his mouth. On his mouth. Both their mouths together and their hands on each other. 

_ Baekhyun kissed him. _

His sworn nemesis. His Quidditch rival. His classmate. His... friend? His friend. His- his…

Oh,  _ Merlin. _

He kissed Chanyeol. And Chanyeol kissed back.

They kissed each other.

And Baekhyun  _ liked it _ .

(He liked it a lot. He liked it so much his toes curled and his heart started racing.)

(His heart is still racing now.)

Shit.

  
  


✧･ﾟ:*✧･*✧･ﾟ:* ･✧

  
  


As the last signs of Winter finally start to fade from the fields, a new chapter seems to bloom in the lives of all students in Hogwarts. It was no news to Baekhyun that, during his last year, he would find himself doing things new things. Things he wasn't used to. 

Writing endless piles of scrolls worth of essays, accidentally melting potions utensils, stressing over his N.E.W.T exams. Maybe eating his breakfast with a Transfiguration textbook under his nose or getting sore muscles from practicing catches for too long. Even taking care of dangerous snakes that would burst into flames more often than not.

Those were all things that, while he wasn't particularly looking forward to, he somewhat expected. Some more than others.

Still, not once in his life did Byun Baekhyun ever expect to be spending his class breaks hiding behind staircases, sneaking kisses from Park Chanyeol.

It's very thrilling, to say the least.

Honestly, it should have been weird. They have known each other for quite some time and their friendship wasn't particularly conventional and yes,  _ it should have been weird _ , but it's incredibly hard to find time for your own awkwardness when your pet beasts are (literally) burning holes in your clothes.

They haven't really talked about the kiss. Haven't really stopped kissing either. 

Baekhyun can't say he minds it.

Not talking about it included also keeping it to themselves and for that Baekhyun was grateful. He didn't really know what their  _ thing _ was and he really didn't want to have to find out with his friends breathing down his neck. He hasn't told anyone, not even Jongdae, and by the looks of it Chanyeol hadn't either. It was bad enough that word got out about the book he bought him for Christmas — didn't need a vocal reaction for their kiss on top of it, like the one he got from Sehun.

("Are you telling me you bought him a book that's worth hundreds of galleons and all I got was a pair of socks?! I'm your cousin, for Merlin's sake!") 

Speaking of the book, it had indeed been helping with the snakes. From what they could gather from similar creatures, the sudden and random burst into flames were a sign that the animals were reaching their adult phase and it would take at least a few weeks until they could stabilize by themselves. Hagrid's return also helped, given their professor's knowledge and general experience with burning.   

For now, they’re mostly just waiting to see how things turn out. It’s not as bad as it was after Christmas, which is good news for their burnt fingers. The fires won’t last for longer than a couple of minutes and Baekhyun had the brilliant idea to use a levitation spell on the snakes to move them into the forest whenever they started glowing. They both learned the hard way not to touch the animals after the fire dies out. And to protect valuable items lying around.

He’s on his way to the Room, History of Magic homework under his arm and brand new Charms’ study guide, courtesy of Jongdae. Chanyeol had the same class as him so the both of them decided to share their notes while hanging out with their snakes. Baekhyun agrees half because he does want help, but half because he wants to spend time with Chanyeol. It’s a funny feeling, walking the same path he did so many times towards that corridor but with a completely different feeling as he turns the corner.

This time around, Baekhyun doesn’t bother hiding the smile that instantly rises in his face at the sight of him.

“Hey, you,” says Chanyeol, extending his hand. Baekhyun had every intention of greeting him back, taking Chanyeol hand in his and walking the rest of the way.

“Your hair!” Is what he says instead. Chanyeol’s hair is no longer blond, but a warm chocolate color. 

“I changed it last night," the Hufflepuff smirks, shaking his head so it bounces a little. "How do I look?”

Baekhyun reaches for it once they’re close enough. He lets his fingers run through the hair, ruffling it and then smoothing it out. It’s soft and slightly curly and the bangs are a bit too long, almost enough to cover his eyebrows. He gently runs his thumb through the side until his hand falls to cup Chanyeol’s face. Baekhyun’s chest suddenly feels too small. 

“You look all right.” He says, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

Chanyeol scoffs before taking a step closer. “You’re wearing your sweater.”

Baekhyun hums to fight off the blush that’s threatening to spread across his face. He still doesn’t move his hand. “And you’re not wearing yours.” 

He feels hands sneaking around his middle, Chanyeol pressing their bodies together. “Are you mad?” He asks, nuzzling Baekhyun’s hand with his cheek.

There went his efforts not to blush like a loser. “A little, yeah,” he says. 

“I’m sorry,” it’s barely a whisper, but it still sounds a lot like teasing. Baekhyun should be annoyed. “Can I make it up to you?”

He brings his other arm so he can wrap it around the Hufflepuff’s neck. “You can try.”

Chanyeol doesn’t answer. He doesn’t even need to lean forward because Baekhyun is eager enough for both of them. 

He’s lost count of how many times they’ve done this. He honestly stopped caring. Something about the feel of Chanyeol’s soft lips against his, the warm skin under his touch and the content sighs he keeps chasing, starting with a press of lips and then more. He tugs on Chanyeol’s lower lip, wraps himself even tighter and pulls his face down so he has a better angle. He can tell Chanyeol is smiling because Chanyeol is  _ always _ smiling and it honestly drives him insane. Baekhyun deepens the kiss, tries to take a little more but Chanyeol never lets him.

He allows them to kiss fully only once. Chanyeol opens his mouth just enough, sneaks his hand under the hem of Baekhyun’s sweater and feather taps at the skin of his lower back. His fingers are cold, but Baekhyun doesn’t mind. He runs his tongue over Chanyeol’s lips, inside his mouth and he wants to melt at how good it feels. He already knew it would be over before it happens.

Chanyeol pulls away from his lips. Before he can whine about it, he feels a kiss at the side of his face. It carries on, his cheeks, his jaw, his ear, his neck. Chanyeol leaves a trail of slow, warm kisses all over his face. Baekhyun can’t see anything but he  _ knows _ he’s smiling.  

“We should go inside,” he says between kisses, against Baekhyun’s skin. “I don’t want to freeze to death out here.”

Baekhyun is tempted to try to sneak another good kiss but it  _ is _ freezing cold so he lets go. He asks for the Room to let them in and giggles as Chanyeol tries to straighten his clothes. It’s pointless because as soon as they step in, they’ll have no choice but to strip down to their shirts and pants. It doesn’t make it less endearing.

Humid air hits his face as he opens the door and the thermal shock of hot and cold makes him shiver. Unlike months ago, Baekhyun isn’t self conscious about the “clothing removal ritual” anymore. Not to say that he’s shy, because he’s not; he was well used to stripping in front of people since he shared a locker with the rest of the Quidditch team. It’s just, something about Chanyeol and how they  _ weren’t friends  _ and now they are and just how self conscious  _ he  _ got that made Baekhyun nervous. Now, Chanyeol doesn’t even care. Probably wouldn’t use clothes at all if he could. 

“So, hear this.” Chanyeol says once he’s done folding his cardigan. “I found a new animal on my book.”

Baekhyun takes off his socks. “Tell me.”

“It’s called Ashwinder.” He says, a tinge of excitement on his voice. “It’s not a very known creature. And it’s also incredibly rare, not many were actually spotted and studied.”

Something about the name is faintly familiar to Baekhyun, but he can’t think of why. He waits until both of them are done to again. “Yeah?” 

“They’re not particularly dangerous beasts. They’re Ministry classified as XXX.” 

That’s two ‘Xs’ more than what Baekhyun considers  _ safe _ , but he says nothing about it. They make their way towards the cabin, the grass tickling his bare feet. Chanyeol places his bag and study material on the center table and whips out his wand to perform the scent removing spell. 

“Our snakes are not on the Ministry log, though.” Baekhyun points.

“I know.” Chanyeol nods. He extends his arms outward so Baekhyun can cast the same charm on him. “Still, I think there’s some sort of connection between them.” 

They hear rustling on the grass just beyond the glass division, which means the snakes probably heard them arriving. Baekhyun wipes the sweat from his neck and walks over.

Chanyeol catches up to him soon after, wasting no time opening the door to let the animals through. Fergus is the first out, going straight for him and rubbing his head under Chanyeol's extended hand. Baekhyun crouches down to join them.

“What type of connection?” He asks, fingers running through the expense of the snake's body, smooth scales cool under his touch.

The Hufflepuff waits until the animal gets bored and moves on from his hand to finally look at Baekhyun again. His eyes have something different on them, some sort of fiercer purpose. “They’re  _ fire _ snakes, Baek.”

Oh.

Chanyeol gives him a couple of moments to absorb the information. They both hear Gertrude approaching so neither of them move. They had learned long ago to let the snake do as they please. The animals will come to you when they're ready. She ignores Baekhyun completely, as expected.

"Oh." He says — out loud this time. Gertrude wraps herself around Chanyeol's forearm so she can climb him. She has become too big and too heavy so Chanyeol can't carry her anymore. "You think Boitatas are Ashwinders?"

He shakes his head. "No, I don't. Ashwinders are born from dying flames and they only live for one hour, two if they're lucky."

Baekhyun locks eyes with Gertrude. Two glowing red points. "That sucks. You think they're related?"

"Possibly. Maybe the same family, different species. We still don't know anything about Boitatas." Chanyeol lowers his voice, raising his arm so Gertrude can reach his shoulders and rest there. "Ashwinders only live long enough to lay eggs." He raises his head to look at Baekhyun. His eyebrows are furrowed. "Fire-related beasts aren't know to live for long, Baekhyun."

Maybe Chanyeol had more things to say at that moment, but he doesn't need to — Baekhyun can guess what he's worried about. 

It's a delicate topic. They haven't brought it up more than once, a long time ago during their first weeks with the animals. When asked about their life span, Hagrid could only assume very little. They knew their mother was younger than a year, but nothing else. They didn't have records on any other animals from this species nor did they know what happened to her. Boitatas are rare for a reason. 

The other big issue is, what to do with them? They're wild animals, they belong in a real forest, free and not trapped in a magic room inside castle with nowhere to go. Every day the animals grow bigger and more restless and at some point they'll have no choice but to set them free. It's easy to forget their only objective was to learn about these animals after they got attached. 

Baekhyun feels a weight on top of his left foot. He looks down and sees Fergus wrapping himself around his ankle and holding him in place. He's not climbing because he's too heavy to do so. He's also a good thirty centimeters taller than Baekhyun is. He keeps his eyes down, at the top of Fergus' head and how the animal is perfectly comfortable and feels safe enough to fall asleep right there. It weighs heavy on Baekhyun's heart.

"What are we gonna do?"

He doesn't specify what he means, he doesn't have to. Chanyeol is quiet for a very long time, staring down at his own hands and Gertrude that is sound asleep on him. He exhales through his mouth, looks up at the sky, looks at Baekhyun.

He doesn't say it, his eyes do.

_ I don't know. _

  
  


✧･ﾟ:*✧･*✧･ﾟ:* ･✧

  
  


It's hard to worry about one problem in specific when there are so many things happening at once. Baekhyun knows the issue with the snakes is a serious one but he can't help but let it slide to the back of his mind as they days go on.

They resume the Quidditch practices as Spring moves along. The team wakes up earlier than the animals, going for morning runs before they can go for morning flights. Baekhyun and Jackson were particularly excited about the new strategy they cooked up via letters during the Winter break. As much as he didn't like admitting it, sharing the captain title and responsibility with someone else made his life infinitely easier. Baekhyun was grateful for his teammate's support and each week he felt like there would be no better choice for the next captain. He had no doubt Jackson could bring the Cup home next year. 

The team's morale seems higher now. Every single player flies a bit faster, moves with more confidence, play a little harder. Baekhyun flies over the field and he doesn't feel that heavy weight anymore. He looks into the eyes of his teammates and all he sees is victory. When he feels the ache in his muscles for flying for too long, sweat is falling over his eyes and the calluses start to sting under his gloves, Baekhyun looks at his team and he feels powerful. He feels invincible.

(Of course he still needs to win a few games. Hopefully he'll be invincible then, too.)

He supposes it has something to do with the implications of the new season, fresh starts, new beginnings and whatnots. Whichever it is, Baekhyun will gladly welcome the feeling.

If he's being fully honest, Quidditch has somewhat also been transferred to the background of his thoughts. He wishes that was his biggest worry.

They have N.E.W.Ts coming. More precisely, coming next week. Monday. Two days from now. 

The amount of fifth and seventh year students in the castle might not be that big overall, but lately it seemed like every single person was consumed by the same ongoing stress. His classmates are spending more time in the library than their own common rooms, the study groups getting larger and larger, the occasional meltdowns in the hallway more and more common. Baekhyun can be found guilty of all of those things. He reads mountains of words of mountains of textbooks and asks for Merlin that he can keep it all in his head. 

Sometimes late at night he'll wake with the sound of rustling inside of his dorm, his roommates going around and gathering notes like undead men. Multiple times he had to check to make sure they weren't sleepwalking or showing side effects from using the Focus potion way too much. It's a dreadful sight. Baekhyun doesn't think himself in a much different place than them. 

He has so much to lose. His future career. His title as Captain. The respect of his peers. The pride of his family.

Okay, maybe not the last two. No one in his family said they would disown him come the results and Baekhyun got nothing past Trolls and Dreadfuls. 

Baekhyun scoffs.  _ Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test _ . They sure got that one right. 

"What?" 

Baekhyun snaps out of his trance, turning his head to look for the voice. "What?"

Chanyeol chuckles. "You were muttering under your breath again."

He blinks a couple of times, lets his environment sink back in. Three Broomsticks. A half full glass of butterbeer in his hands. Chanyeol sitting across from him.

"Oh, sorry."

Around them there's quiet chattering and the sound of music playing in the background. There aren't many people at the bar because of the good weather. Through the window Baekhyun can see the Sun shining on a blue sky. Witches and wizards walking around with their shopping bags and groceries. Students laughing and playing, pockets filled with goodies from Honey and Duke's. It's a beautiful day.

The sound of Chanyeol placing his mug on the table brings his attention back inside. "You know I brought you here to get your mind off the exams, right?" he says, fingers tapping on the wood.

"I know, I'm sorry." Baekhyun shakes his head. "It's hard not to think about it." 

Chanyeol slides his hand across the table, to where the Gryffindor is still gingerly holding his cup. "You've been studying harder than anyone I know," he touches the side of Baekhyun's fingers. "You'll do great."

It's said with a smile in an incredibly soft tone. Baekhyun lets go of the glass, intertwines their fingers together.

"Thank you." 

His palm is cold and a little wet from holding on the iced butterbeer for too long, but Chanyeol doesn't seem to mind. They stay like that, hand in hand and eye to eye. Chanyeol keeps his thumb moving, soothing with quick feathery touches on Baekhyun's skin. His eyes are big and welcoming and warm and  _ safe _ that somehow the feeling in them comes rushing through Baekhyun's mind, flooding his thoughts and not leaving room for much else. If he paid close attention, he might have noticed himself melting bit by bit. 

"Did you boys order some burgers?" 

Baekhyun pulls back, glues his back to the chair and brings both his hands to his lap. The interrupting startled him a lot more than it should have. It's just one of the waiters with their food. Baekhyun clears his throat and nods, motioning for her to carry on. After a moment, Chanyeol does the same, pulling his own hand back from the table. She gives them a knowing look but says nothing about it, placing the plates down and telling them to dig in.

They're both quiet until she leaves. Baekhyun knows his cheeks are burning and he wants nothing but to bury his face with the so called burger. Even if he's still not sure what exactly they are. 

Across from him Chanyeol looks… weird. He's looking down at the table, distant look on his eyes and a frown on his face. Baekhyun leans down to get on his field of vision.

"Hey, you okay?"

Chanyeol blinks a couple of times before his eyes focus back on him. "Yeah, I'm good." He smiles, but it still doesn't look right. "You ready to taste the most classic and traditional Muggle meals of all times?"

Baekhyun doesn't think any of those claims are true, but he smiles back anyway. He supposes the stress can get to anybody, even Chanyeol. 

He doesn't mean to be a bad friend.  _ Of course  _ Chanyeol has around a million things to worry about. He's also a top Quidditch player, has his own N.E.W.Ts and his other elective classes, not to mention his snakes and the annoying good heart that makes him help every other dumbass in the castle (like Baekhyun).

The burgers don't taste bad at all and he's pleasantly surprised. Chanyeol seems to regain some of his normal carefree self the more he eats and Baekhyun is glad. He wants to know what's wrong, see if there's anything he can do or maybe help relieve some of the tension, but he can't bring himself to ask. Chanyeol was right, they came all the way to Hogsmead to try and get their minds off things, so maybe is for the best if he doesn't bring it up. 

He still feels bad about it. At the very least, he thinks Chanyeol should know that he's got his back.

"You know you can tell me, right?" He says after they're done eating. Chanyeol raises an eyebrow at him from where he's sprawled over his seat. "Whatever it is that's bothering you."

Chanyeol squirms in his seat. "It's…" he shakes his head. "It's stupid, I'm probably just overreacting."

"You can tell me anyway." A memory flashes in his mind, and it makes him smile. "You can tell me anything."

In the time that takes him to answer, Baekhyun notices a couple of emotions running through Chanyeol's eyes. Gratitude, relief, confusion and… something else. A few months ago, Baekhyun wouldn't have noticed. The shift, how Chanyeol looks at him directly and then at the wall above his head. He can tell that Chanyeol is considering, that he's playing out the conversation inside of his mind to see if it's worth it. Baekhyun can't help but feel a little bit offended. He thought they were past this.

"It's about Gertrude." He says. "She's been acting strange lately."

Baekhyun leans back in his chair. Huh.

This isn't it. Maybe not before Winter but now Baekhyun knows. Chanyeol chose not to tell him. 

Okay. Baekhyun can't force him to share something he clearly doesn't want to.

"You mean because she's been sleeping a lot?"

Chanyeol frowns. "Yeah? But not just that," he avoids looking at Baekhyun. "She's slow, not climbing trees or anything anymore. She even let you touch her. No offense."

Baekhyun holds himself from scoffing. "None taken."

It's true, though. Gertrude doesn't like him, she never has. The closest she would allow Baekhyun to get was never smaller than arm's length but, over the past couple of weeks, she became less and less aggressive. Like she was tired. 

"You think she's sick?"

"I…" Chanyeol shakes his head. "I don't know."

Baekhyun is trying to come up with something encouraging to say when they're interrupted by the waiter again. She asks them if they need anything else and he simply watches as Chanyeol tells her no, that they're good to go. They each pay for their meals and make their way back outside. Baekhyun still doesn't know what to say.

He doesn't even get a chance to. As soon as they step back into the main street Chanyeol turns to him with that same weird look and tells him he needs to buy some things before heading back to the castle. Baekhyun lets out a weak 'okay' and stands there as the Hufflepuff leaves. 

It's… the N.E.W.Ts, right? It has to be the N.E.W.Ts. The exams and general concern. Right.

He decides right then that whatever it is, it can wait until after he's had ice cream. It's still a beautiful day, he still has all afternoon to hang out in the village. After the week is over, he tells himself.

The thing about this whole situation is, Chanyeol's just… scary. 

What he means to Baekhyun, what he makes him feel, it's absolutely terrifying. Whenever they're together Baekhyun doesn't think about anything else, he doesn't worry about what it's supposed to be. He doesn't think about when  _ me _ became  _ us _ and when he started to look at Chanyeol and think  _ mine _ instead of  _ you. _ He's scared to know the answer. 

He feels a little selfish, yes, but he feels entitled to keep at least one thing to himself. Keep just this one part as uncomplicated as he can. He doesn't want to tell the world and honestly, he doesn't think Chanyeol wants to either. He doesn't want to talk about it, make decisions and face the consequences. All he wants is to hold Chanyeol's hand and let it melt all the stress from his body. 

It's not a bad thing. It's just too much all at once.

After next week.

After.

  
  


✧･ﾟ:*✧･*✧･ﾟ:* ･✧

  
  


It's only some time after eleven p.m. that Baekhyun finally finds himself stumbling back to the castle. 

He's not drunk. Just happy. Seriously.

It felt like forever since the Gryffindor team had a party. 

It was Jackson's idea, obviously. Every single seventh-year was there. There was music blasting, food and snacks (courtesy from the kitchen elves) and a whole bunch of "totally not alcoholic" pumpkin juice. It was supposed to be a small celebration for the Quidditch team only but you can't get more than six people in one room together without word getting out. Baekhyun didn't mind. The more the merrier.

Even if most of the students didn't know exactly why the party was happening it seemed like none of them had any complaints. Half of the people around were celebrating doing well on their exams and the other half was trying to forget how horrible the experience was. For the first time in his life, Baekhyun didn't hate the half he was part of.

But the party wasn't about the seventh years, or exams or anything. It was about Baekhyun getting good marks. It was about Baekhyun being allowed to stay in the Quidditch team. It was about Baekhyun being  Captain, finally.

Sure, some things could have gone a lot better, but he is damn well satisfied with his six N.E.W.Ts and three Outstandings (Defense Against the Dark Arts, Spells and Astronomy). He had four more than he needed to become an auror and a hell of a lot more than his older brother got back when he was a student. More importantly, Professor McGonagall was satisfied enough to declare him free of his punishment. She summoned him to her office and relayed the news, even though she was not supposed to until the end of the term.

"You better bring me that cup, Mr. Byun," she said, not fully able to contain the smile on her face.

She was almost as excited as Baekhyun. Probably more. Sure as hell not more than Jackson. The beater was ecstatic. 

He set up a date for the party the  _ second _ Baekhyun told him. And then he engulfed him in a bone crushing hug. He called for an immediate team meeting, already assigning tasks and giving orders left and right as the rest of their teammates showered Baekhyun with congratulatory taps on the shoulder and thoughtful hugs. Baekhyun stood back and let Jackson handle everything with a feeling of accomplishment. Whatever happened, he was leaving his team in good hands. 

"To our fierce Captain, Byun Baekhyun!" Jackson yelled at the party, standing on top of a table and holding out a cup of beer. "The fucker who's gonna get Gryffindor the Quidditch Cup for the first time in a decade!"

The wailing and cheering was as loud as if this was a real game. Baekhyun laughed hard, arm around Yugyeom because the kid had been crying for the past half hour and Baekhyun had grown really fucking fond of him. Nayeon was doing shots with Lucas and they both had such bright smiles it was impossible not to smile too. The chasers were all dancing together, joined hands and turning in circles.

He was happy, so happy he felt his heart could've burst out of his chest. From all his memories in Hogwarts, he's pretty sure he's going to miss the Quidditch ones the most. Wins and losses. Baekhyun had to keep reminding himself it was a night for  _ celebration _ and not for getting emotional or he would end up joining Yugyeom and cry as they sang Gryffindor's cheering songs.

So it's a good thing when he leaves. 

He almost forgot he was supposed to meet up with Chanyeol tonight. It should be fine because Chanyeol had the snakes to distract him so he wouldn't be mad if Baekhyun showed up a few minutes late. It's a long walk from the Quidditch lockers to seventh floor and the corridor, and that's probably for the best. It gives Baekhyun a few minutes to sweat out the spiked pumpkin juice out of his system.

(He's really not drunk, just happy and a little dizzy).

Baekhyun reaches the corridor already asking for his way in, not looking where he's going and not checking to see if he's alone. He's graduating soon and the list of things he worries about keeps getting smaller and smaller. 

The best part about Spring is that they don't need to worry about shedding their clothes off when they enter the Room because the temperatures are  _ finally _ similar. Baekhyun is wearing shorts and a t-shirt. There's no brisk change of weather. He takes off his shoes and socks by the entrance and he wants to laugh.

"Yeolie?" He calls out, feet moving on the soft grass. Some parts are a bit wet. It must have rained earlier. "Yeolie, you still here?" 

It's a silly question because the light inside their small hut are on. 

Chanyeol pokes his head out of the door. "Took you long enough," he scoffs. Baekhyun can tell he's not mad at all. "What were you doing?"

Instead of an answer, Baekhyun simply throws himself at him and traps him into a bear hug. Chanyeol starts laughing with his whole body and hugs him back, tight enough that not even air stays between them. Baekhyun starts laughing too. Chanyeol lifts him from the ground and starts spinning them around in circles.

"I did it, I did it, I did it!" Baekhyun giggles with his face buried on Chanyeol's shoulder. "I did it Yeolie, I got it!"

That's all he needs to say, really. 

If Baekhyun thought Jackson was excited, he had absolutely nothing on Chanyeol. The Hufflepuff starts jumping in place, showering him with  _ congratulations _ and  _ you did it _ and  _ I'm so proud of you  _ and every single word feels genuine. Baekhyun hugs him tighter, if that's even possible, and waits until Chanyeol can calm down so they can talk. 

He insists that Baekhyun tells him the entire conversation with the headmaster and then his team's reaction word by word. It's a little hard because Chanyeol keeps interrupting him every other sentence to either squeal or hug him, or both, but Baekhyun doesn't mind it in the slightest. 

They're both sitting on the floor by the time Baekhyun is done and Chanyeol tells him about the snakes. They're asleep somewhere deep in the jungle, he says, and that Gertrude seemed to feel a little better today. He feels a bit disappointed because he wanted to see them and check on her himself but he's glad they're both okay. He can always come back tomorrow. 

"You know what," Chanyeol says after they've been in silence for a few minutes, his words forming slowly. Baekhyun doesn't mean to just keep staring at his lips while he talks. "This calls for a celebration."

"What do you have in mind?"

Chanyeol looks up at him with a smile. "Let's go swimming."

It takes a few moments for Baekhyun to connect the dots between the words and what Chanyeol just suggested and when he does he wants to snort.

"Swimming?" He asks with an eyebrow raised. "Are you crazy?"

"Why not? It's hot, we have a river all for ourselves," he sounds giddier with each word. "No one can tell us not to."

This time Baekhyun  _ does  _ snort. "For ourselves and the weird fish that live in there, you mean?"

"Oh, come on, Baek!" Chanyeol nudges him with his knee. "Have you ever even seen any fish here?"

Baekhyun has  _ not,  _ actually. He refuses to answer and it only serves as fuel, Chanyeol grinning triumphantly. He knows this battle is lost, so there's really no point fighting it. Chanyeol stands up and pulls Baekhyun with him, giggling to himself and saying how much fun this is going to be. If Baekhyun wasn't so enamoured, he'd probably be rolling his eyes.

He follows Chanyeol to where the stream runs at the edge of the clearing and he feels excitement building at the bottom of his throat. Even at night, they can still see perfectly thanks to the magic of the Room. It's almost like the water is glowing.

Just like always, Chanyeol goes first. He takes off his shirt and throws it to the side without looking at where it lands. Baekhyun does the same. All Baekhyun can really see is the shadows of the moonless moonlight on his back muscles as he lowers himself into the river. 

He doesn't react the way Baekhyun was expecting. He doesn't flinch at the temperature or immediately curses so he takes it as a good sign. Chanyeol gets further into stream, until the water reaches his hips. He turns around for just a second to flash Baekhyun a blinding smile. It's inviting.

He goes for it.

The water is almost warm on his skin. It's nice, feels every bit of refreshing as he hoped, the feel of it engulfing his skin and the rough surface of the rocks under his feet. Each step comes with the sound of the water rustling and the fabric of Baekhyun's shorts that sticks to his thighs. 

Chanyeol still doesn't turn around — too busy looking at his own reflection in the water — so Baekhyun takes the final step. Connects their bodies with a hug, his arms around Chanyeol's waist and presses his chest to his back, rests his cheek between his shoulder blades. His body is warm and Baekhyun feels that  _ feeling _ again, feels it blossom from the very center of him and branch out like a long sigh. He wraps himself tighter around Chanyeol's middle and smiles when he feels Chanyeol's hands resting above his. 

He feels sober now.

"Thank you." He whispers. 

The soft waves of the stream brush past their thighs. 

"What for?"

He turns his head so he can touch Chanyeol's skin with his lips. 

_ For believing in me. For giving me a chance even though I didn't deserve it. For helping, for caring. For sharing so much of your life with me and making so easy for me to share mine. For making me laugh. For making me happy.  _

"For being you." 

Chanyeol's body shakes when he chuckles. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Honestly? Baekhyun doesn't know. He can't bring himself to question it.

He shrugs instead. "Means I like you."

Their bodies shake again but this time Chanyeol lets go of his hands to turn around. Baekhyun doesn't break the embrace, only now he needs to lean his head back slightly so they can look at each other. Chanyeol cups his face with both his hands, looks at him very slowly, from one pupil to the other. He still hasn't gotten that haircut. He's beautiful. 

Their foreheads are touching now. Baekhyun's eyes are barely open.

"I like you, too."

This kiss tastes different from the others. It's slower, it's the most delicate movement  — almost feathery. Chanyeol's lips touch his in a way that makes Baekhyun think he's trying to memorize the shape. It feels intimate in a way none of the others were, feels security. Baekhyun wonders if it's because they're both so relieved their exams are finally over, if it's because they're pressed skin on skin or if it's something else entirely.

The familiarity of it, the shape of Chanyeol's hand on his face or the warmth between both their bodies. His finger tracing up and down the line of Chanyeol's spine, the water and the dirt between his toes. 

Baekhyun wants to memorize this too. 

They kiss for long enough that when a breeze goes by them, Chanyeol shivers. For some reason it's funny, maybe because they're pressed so close together or maybe it's because it's ass o'clock and they're kissing inside a river inside a mysterious magic room. Baekhyun rubs his forehead over Chanyeol's collarbones and laughs some more.

Chanyeol says they should swim. Baekhyun agrees.

They go with the stream because that's the opposite direction from the forest. They swim side by side to warm up, race sometimes just for the hell of it. The water doesn't get higher than Baekhyun's chest, so for a while they walk rather than swim. The river follows the edge of the clearing until a few meters south of the hut. 

It keeps going into the forest so they stop, probably not far from where they started but it's a little hard to tell in the dark. Chanyeol yawns and declares himself no longer trustworthy in the river and Baekhyun agrees. They both walk back to the edge and Chanyeol props himself up and sits on the grass, both his feet still dangling underwater. Baekhyun moves closer.

He rests his elbows on Chanyeol's thighs, leans closer between his legs. "What's on your mind?" 

The Hufflepuff lets his eyes follow down the line of the room until he finds Baekhyun's.

"You." He says.

"What about me?"

It takes a few moments of them looking at each other, the drops of water sliding down Chanyeol's body and Baekhyun swaying lightly with the river stream. It looks like he thinks about a lot more things, feels a lot more things, but he still hasn't found the right way to voice them yet. 

"You're just impressive, that's all."

Baekhyun takes the leverage of the water and climbs up. He has a leg on each side of Chanyeol and uses his own momentum to lay them both down, trapping their bodies together. 

For him, it's almost obvious.

"So are you." 

He moves so he can better support his own weight, leaning on his elbow next to Chanyeol's head and their legs tangled together. Baekhyun has their noses lined up, his damp hair falling over his face and the water that drips with his shaky breaths. Chanyeol chases after him first, pecking his lips the best he can with his body pinned to the ground. 

Baekhyun doesn't need to be asked twice.

  
  


✧･ﾟ:*✧･*✧･ﾟ:* ･✧

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well. we're all happy now.
> 
> next chapter is the last one so if you have anything you need answers for THE TIME IS NOW!!!! skdnaksnna s i'm joking but do tell me. 
> 
> i'm not gonna lie i have no idea how long its going to take but it is coming. eventually. pray for me my friends. 
> 
> i am truly grateful to all of you who have read this far. and most importantly to those who left comments. you're the best and i love you. you make my day. 
> 
> see you in the next one bbs ♡
> 
>  
> 
> [ tumblr ](https://vscenery.tumblr.com/)  
> [ twitter ](https://twitter.com/ohimemomo)  
> [ cc ](https://curiouscat.me/ohimemomo)  
>    
> ♡  
> 


End file.
